Kimberly Annette Hardy, EdD is an educator, author, and faith-based mental health advocate. In her career, Hardy believes that she is called to the fight for educational justice to transform the lives of students and entire communities. She has served as an educator in some capacity for 22 years. Dr. Hardy has worked with the Breakthrough Collaborative affiliates programs, Breakthrough of South Florida, and Greater Philadelphia Breakthrough Germantown Friends Site. In addition, she was honored to serve as site coordinator for the Durham Freedom School (an affiliate of CDF Freedom Schools®). She has also worked with the TRIO Upward Bound Program, Teach for America South Louisiana Corps, Gestalt Community Schools, and the Moore Undergraduate Research Apprenticeship Program of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

She is a graduate of Jackson State University, majoring in speech communication studies and minoring in Spanish. She holds a Master of Art in Education, Culture, Curriculum, and Change from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In addition, she holds an MA in higher education administration from Louisiana State University. She completed her doctorate in Leadership and Professional Practice from Trevecca Nazarene University. Her dissertation focused on the experiences of identified gifted African American college students.