Carole Kasper

Carole Kasper is Vice Chair of the Board of Directors at Essential Partners. Originally raised in New England with deep family roots in the region, Carole has lived in various parts of the United States and traveled extensively throughout the world.  

Prior to founding and helming an organization development consulting company based initially in Denver and then in Greater Boston, Carole was partner and senior consultant in a Washington-D.C.-based consulting firm, account manager in an Atlanta-based change-management firm, and a professional administrator at two major New England universities. She has considerable background as an external collaborator with public organizations at every level of federal, state, county, regional, and local government, with experience consulting, training, and facilitating in the private and non-profit sectors as well. Carole was named the founding Kidder Scholar during her years at The University of Vermont, before graduating summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Communication Science and receiving the university-wide Mary Jean Simpson Award.  

Carole holds a Master of Education (M.Ed.) from the University of Massachusetts / Amherst, with a specialized focus in Multicultural Organization Development. At UMASS, she taught the College of Education’s Social Diversity semester course, while also facilitating workshops with the Social Issues Training Project. Carole completed an additional year of graduate course work within Boston University’s College of Education, and has also earned various post-graduate professional certifications. She offers 20+ years of volunteer experience as a board member, community leader, local contributor, and publicly-elected official in two MA municipalities.  

Carole has been a proud and consistent supporter of The Public Conversations Project, now Essential Partners, for 25+ years. Early in her career as a process facilitator and practitioner, she began integrating dialoguing into her diversity consulting and training approach within client systems. These dialogic conversations, centered in deeper understanding among participants, began to transform human systems from within, resulting in strengthened workplace relationships and increased performance effectiveness within teams and organizations broadly. Carole and her husband raised their two now-college-age sons in the suburbs of Boston. The family enjoys nature, travel, and ongoing community volunteering and connections.