Portrait of Kina S. Mallard

Kina S. Mallard, Ph.D.

Executive Coach

Developing strong leaders who lead strong institutions.

Former University President, Kina S. Mallard, Ph.D. has been leading leaders for over 30 years. She is a skilled coach and consultant, engaging workshop facilitator, and dynamic speaker. She has an extensive background in working with the strengths of leaders and moving them from good to great.  

Dr. Mallard has coached higher education leaders at all levels. She has developed and led national workshops on various leadership topics. launched faculty and women’s leadership programs, and consulted with and coached presidents and vice-presidents as they lead their institutions and leadership teams in supporting the mission of their universities. 

Kina’s enthusiasm for supporting and cultivating strong leaders in higher education drives her coaching practice. She believes the leaders she works with are creative, resourceful, and whole. They have the answers to their questions and the solutions to their problems inside them. Her approach is to walk alongside them with deep listening and provocative questions helping them expand their possibilities and move from point A to point B.  

Kina’s experience allows her to view leadership through different lenses, having served at every leadership level in higher education including Department Chair and Associate Provost at Union University, Academic Dean at Gordon College, Provost and Executive VP at Carson-Newman University, and President at Reinhardt University. She believes the power to grow and thrive is in the hands of the leader and her passion is serving as a thought partner with presidents and senior leaders as they navigate today’s challenging and changing higher education landscape. She knows from experience that dynamic leadership leads to dynamic future-directed teams – the backbone of dynamic institutions. 

Dr. Mallard is an ICF Certified Executive Coach and teaches Executive and Group Coaching for an MBA program at a midwestern university. Her coaches benefit from her expertise in using assessments to guide the coaching sessions. She holds certifications in several assessments including Leadership Effectiveness 360, Emotional Intelligence, DSIC, and Motivators Inventories. Dr. Mallard is CEO of Leading Higher Ed, Inc.