Kysha Wright Frazier
President & CEO
As President & CEO, Kysha Wright Frazier directs the organization’s overall strategic direction; sustains organizational leadership; and steers CSW’s culture, and racial, equity and inclusion practices. Kysha engages with national, state, and local policy and practice leaders as part of CSW’s efforts to provoke change in public policy and investment in workforce development, ensuring the organization’s work is effectively designed to carry out CSW’s mission, vision, and values.
Kysha joined CSW in 2008, and her collective 20 plus years of experience extends across the nonprofit, education, and private sector workforce ecosystems, working on strategies that seek to advance people and places. Kysha most recently served as the Vice President of Policy & Strategy where she helped lead the strategic development of high-impact strategies to increase economic mobility, particularly for people of color and others historically excluded from advancement opportunities. Internally she directed CSW’s hiring and talent development, and its project management system. Prior to that role, Kysha led the Improving Practices & Outcomes team aimed at strengthening the capacity of community-based service providers to use data effectively for program improvements that result in equitable workforce results for jobseekers. Currently, she is partnering with the University of Pittsburgh to help determine the capacity of community colleges to partner with dual customer training programs, and bolster industry-recognized credentials of value for underserved adult learners of color. She is also providing strategic advising for the ACE-UP Community of Practice which brings together community college and industry leaders to design and uplift tangible strategies that create more inclusive workplace environments leading to worker retention, advancement, and economic success.
Prior to joining CSW, Kysha created, launched and served as business unit leader of Cascade Consulting Group, a consulting division of Grand Rapids Manufacturer, Cascade Engineering. Kysha was responsible for identifying and designing innovative solutions to assist clients in becoming employers of choice. Before working in the private sector, Kysha served as the Assistant Director of Career Services at Hope College. Kysha comes from a family of entrepreneurs, owning a national snacking brand. Kysha earned a master’s in higher education administration from the University of Iowa, a master’s in organizational management from Spring Arbor University, and a bachelor’s from the University of Iowa in anthropology and African American world studies.
CSW Projects:
- Creating Shared Community Commitment for Family Economic Security in Grand Rapids
- Technical Assistance to Green Jobs Innovation Fund Grantees
- WorkLife Partnership
- Triple Bottom Line Evaluation
- Aligning Computing Education with Engineering Workforce Needs
- National Technical Assistance Strategy for DOL Grantees Charged with Training Workers to Secure Jobs
Publications:
- Detroit GreenWorks Solutions: Creating Triple Bottom Line Impact
- Catalyzing the Development of Robust Career Navigation Supports
- Reimagining San Diego’s One Stops
- Advancing Competitiveness Through Latino Immigrant Worker Success
- Attacks on DEI Jeopardize College-Employer Partnerships
- Registered Apprenticeship Reimagined
- The Federal Resources Playbook for Registered Apprenticeship
Board Membership:
- Higher Education as a Strategic Asset (HESA) Commissioner
- Strada Education Network Strategic Advisory Council: National and State Progress on Equitable Pathways to Opportunity Through Postsecondary Education and Training
- Marvin Community Development Services Corp