About
During 40 years of consulting to and managing business, government, academic and nonprofit organizations, Dr. Kit Tennis has developed a consulting philosophy that blends practical realism with a compassionate commitment to building effective, ethical, high performance teams and organizations. Kit focuses both on enhancing the management and life skills of organization members and on broadening the competencies and perspectives organizations need to successfully face the challenges of our rapidly changing environment. An inspiring facilitator, trainer, speaker and coach, Kit is known for his lively, engaging style and his explicit trust in the innate genius of everyone he meets. His contemporary work concentrates on leadership development, unconscious bias, employee engagement, resiliency, large systems change strategies, global diversity and inclusion, appreciative inquiry, communication skills, team building, strategic planning, organizational cultural renewal and the intersection of societal environmental sustainability, equity, and healthy human spirit.
Kit's broad work experience grounds his expertise and insight into team and organizational work life. In addition to his extensive domestic and international consulting practice, he has been a municipal personnel director, managed academic and governmental service programs, and developed successful nonprofit human service organizations. During a stint as a popular business professor of organizational behavior, human resources, and international/cross-cultural management, Kit was a founding Senior Associate of the Colorado World Trade Center.
Kit has been a long-term member of a professional peer review panel reviewing the competency of organization consultants in the Mountain States region. Kit’s clients include American Association of Critical Care Nurses, Key Bank, Hewlett-Packard, Inc., DPR Construction, Ingenuity Project, Santa Clara County, Barry-Wehmiller Company, Flatiron Construction, IONS – Institute of Noetic Sciences, Crown Institute, Blue Current, Hospices of Northern Colorado, National Association of Independent Schools, University of Colorado, City of Boulder, USBank, Xcel Energy, The Nature Conservancy, Denver Indian Family Resource Center, GH Phipps, WACOM, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Siemens, the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, St Thomas University Diversity Executive Forum, National Association of Independent Schools, Mind-Life Institute, Naropa University, The Pachamama Alliance, Moss-Adams, DuPont, Pioneer Hi-Bred International, AGILENT, Xerox, AT&T, Northwest Province of Jesuits and the Bocconi University of Milan.
Kit regularly provides professional development peer review, training and coaching to consultants, facilitators, and trainers. Kit's doctorate in organization development is from the University of Colorado where his dissertation addressed the contribution of organizational climate to staff burnout in hospital systems. His recent publications include “U.S. Experience in Managing Diversity: A Consulting View” in Diversity Management e Societa Multiculturale: Teorie e Prassi, Milan, Italy: FrancoAngeli, “Discovering Your Positive Core: A Personal Guide”, and “The Strategic Matrix for Diversity Initiatives”. He lives in the mountains outside Boulder, Colorado with his life and business partner, Dr. Anita Sanchez, and a son studying Mechanical Engineering.