Having spent the first decade of her career as a middle school teacher, Dr. Kannan is committed to pedagogical excellence, regardless of whether she is working with a school, government, or organization.

As a facilitator, Dr. Kannan creates adaptive teams and systems to improve organizational culture and foster work conditions that promote equity. Dr. Kannan believes that organizational improvement occurs best in organizations whose work cultures are dynamic and collaborative. To that end, she is trained in the Adaptive Schools Framework, which helps organizations develop collective identity and capacity through structured and purposeful collaboration.

Dr. Kannan lived in India, her father’s homeland, for four years. There, she led strategic planning initiatives to create stronger partnerships across Mumbai and to improve teacher professional learning. She developed research-driven curricular innovations to support students and families at the American School of Bombay, and facilitated professional learning teams at the Akanksha Schools in order to support their organization’s move toward more culturally responsive and globalized learning. Dr. Kannan has extensive experience supporting teachers, principals, and instructional coaches around curriculum, instruction, and educational leadership.

In addition to her consulting work, Dr. Kannan teaches various research courses, such as Knowledge System Integration and Indigenous Knowledge Systems, as an affiliate faculty member in Penn’s Chief Learning Officer executive doctoral program. She is also an adjunct professor of education at Lake Superior State University.