As CEO and founder of Brettschneider Executive Search, Kim Brettschneider (she/her) conducts leadership searches across healthcare, higher education and nonprofit sectors. Her team identifies transformational executive leaders using a highly communicative, efficient and tailored approach. Before starting the firm, Kim oversaw higher education, academic medicine, children’s hospital, and nonprofit searches at a top 15 global executive recruitment firm. Seven years prior she was the New York principal with a mid-sized retained search firm focusing mostly on president and vice president of fundraising and marketing searches.

Kim has successfully partnered to place 200 C-suite leaders throughout her career. Kim’s expertise includes strategic budget planning, fundraising, marketing, human resources and public policy resulting from her prior years as executive director of the Children’s Defense Fund-California, development director of the Wonder of Reading, and interim education director of the Conservation Corps in Long Beach. In these roles, she partnered to expand health care coverage for children in California and comprehensive educational programs for thousands of low-income youth.

With a career-long commitment to equality she strives to identify not just candidates, but most importantly placements who diversify an institution’s leadership team across gender, race and ethnicity. As a board member, Kim has counseled various New York and California health, economic and educational organizations. California Assembly member Bonnie Lowenthal, and the New Jersey State Senate and General Assembly recognized Kim’s advocacy efforts for young people including children of color and LGBTQIA+ students. 

Kim was the recipient of the Prudential Community Spirit Award, the Bergen County Peace, Justice and Dignity Award in New Jersey, and two fellowships from the Independent Colleges of Southern California during her time at Pomona College. Kim speaks French as well as some Spanish.

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