Freada Klein

Overview

Freada Kapor Klein is an entrepreneur, activist and leader in the field of organizational development. Her work over the past 25 years has linked rigorous research with practical intervention on issues involving the challenges of people and organizational culture, from raw startups to global enterprises. An entrepreneur herself who has pioneered in developing models for revenue and sustainability of non-profits, she is an active advisor and mentor to social entrepreneurs, often connecting them to sources of funding from angel investors and venture capitalists. She is also an advocate for entrepreneurs from underrepresented backgrounds, especially people of color and women. After completing her Ph.D. in 1984, Dr. Klein became the first Director of Organizational Development, Training and Employee Relations for Lotus Development Corporation. Her consulting firm, Klein Associates, founded in 1987, specializes in employee surveys, training, and consulting on all forms of bias, harassment, and discrimination in the workplace. Klein’s client base ranges from Harvard Business School to the World Bank to top tier international law firms, Wall Street financial services firms, and Silicon Valley start-ups, among others. From 2000-2005 she conducted an annual Quality of Worklife survey of venture capital-backed information technology startup companies focusing on aspects of company culture that correlate with profitability, retention, and high morale through Boom and Bust. In 2001 she founded the Level Playing Field Institute, a non-profit which promotes innovative approaches to fairness in higher education and workplaces by removing barriers to full participation. Klein is the author of “Giving Notice: Why the Best and the Brightest Leave the Workplace and How You Can Help Them Stay”.