Kristen Kavanaugh

Kristen Kavanaugh is the cofounder and CEO of The Agency Initiative, an Austin, Texas-based organizational effectiveness and leadership development consulting firm dedicated to creating a world with more leaders and organizations choosing courage in their most critical moments. She served as the vice chair of the Department of Defense's inaugural Defense Advisory Committee on Diversity and Inclusion until it was disbanded by the Trump administration in 2024. Previously, she served as the...See more

Kristen Kavanaugh is the cofounder and CEO of The Agency Initiative, an Austin, Texas-based organizational effectiveness and leadership development consulting firm dedicated to creating a world with more leaders and organizations choosing courage in their most critical moments. She served as the vice chair of the Department of Defense's inaugural Defense Advisory Committee on Diversity and Inclusion until it was disbanded by the Trump administration in 2024. Previously, she served as the senior director of inclusion, talent, and learning at Tesla, where she led the diversity, equity, and inclusion, talent management, and learning and development functions for the global organization, formulating many of the ideas around courage and leadership during her nearly six-year tenure. Kristen holds a master's degree in social work from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California, and a bachelor's degree from the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. See less