Kimisha Simpson, MS '16, EdD '25, Global Education Trailblazer
Through her dissertation and her nonprofit, Kimisha Simpson, MS '16, EdD '25, is focused on changing the trajectory of the Jamaican education system.
Kimisha Simpson, MS '16, EdD '25, (right) stands with children from Christiana Leased Primary & Infant School in Christiana, Manchester Parish, Jamaica.
Kimisha Simpson, MS '16, EdD '25, is making advances in the world of global education through her academic research, her day job in the Upper Darby School District and her work at the Ignite Jamaica Fund.
Simpson began her studies in Saint Joseph’s University’s Interdisciplinary Doctor of Education Program for Educational Leaders (IDEPEL) around the same time she founded the Ignite Jamaica Fund, a nonprofit focused on addressing problems in Jamaica’s education system.
The idea was born out of seeing Jamaican students struggle to access reliable technology during the COVID-19 pandemic. Once Simpson, whose parents are both from Jamaica, connected with schools on the island, she saw that the needs were more far-reaching than she originally thought.
“[I] realized that it’s an ongoing issue of resource allocation and financial support for the education system,” she says. “I want to have roots in Jamaica, and I don’t want to be someone who just goes to enjoy their resources without trying to contribute to their progress.”
As Simpson and her team worked to make the Ignite Jamaica Fund a reality, she was inspired by her research through the IDEPEL program. Her academic work focuses on the impact of colonialism in the Jamaican education system in three particular areas: pedagogy, physical school environments and educational policy.
“I can see these findings helping with the decision-making of our organization moving forward, as there is definitely still a need to address those lingering effects, and Jamaica is not the only society navigating it,” Simpson explains. “Through my research, I was able to develop a framework that gives educators tools and tips for trying to improve those three areas that are so influential when it comes to students, staff members and their families.”
After gaining 501(c)(3) status, Simpson and her team were able to grow their pool of donations from private donors and partnered with educators in Jamaica to identify high-need schools.
The Ignite Jamaica Fund has also been able to expand its imprint into the Philadelphia community, helping local students from the Caribbean diaspora connect to higher education resources. This includes funding scholarships for Jamaican and other Caribbean students to attend college and working with eight partners in Caribbean student organizations to organize a mentorship program.
“We’ve been able to build a pipeline where we mentor college students in the space of business and innovation, and they feel that spark to mentor high school students,” she says. “It’s an awesome full-circle moment.”
Aimee LaPointe Terosky, EdD, associate dean of the School of Education and Human Development and Simpson’s dissertation chair, has seen her evolution as an educator and a student since her time in the master’s program.
“Not only is her dissertation outstanding, but she created a theoretical framework and a practical checklist for schools to use,” Terosky says. “I’m quite sure it will be used by teacher-scholars, and I think her study is so strong because she can grapple with deep and complex theory and still be real world-oriented.”
Simpson’s wide-ranging career in education has also colored her perspective at the helm of her organization.
“I started out as a classroom teacher, so I always have that teacher lens, but my professional journey has taken me to be a principal and now a central office administrator,” she says. “I’ve gotten to be on the ground with the instructional side of things at the classroom level, and the work I do with the fund is tied to academics and instruction, but there’s so much more when you look at policies that inform school budgets and institutional procedures.”
Simpson now works as the supervisor of recruitment, retention and culture for the Upper Darby School District — a job that fits in with her mission to center equality of opportunity in all levels of the education system at home and abroad.
“Cura personalis, that care for the whole person, is so important to educators,” she says. “It’s at the core of our whole team — education can’t happen unless a child feels like they are loved, cared for and respected, and that has been stressed in my work and in my St. Joe’s experience.”
