Dr. Keima Sheriff

Interim Executive Director
Contact: keima@phillyyoungplaywrights.org
Phone: 215-665-9226 x7001

Managing organizational storytelling efforts and information sharing, Dr. Keima Sheriff recently served as the Director of External Affairs for HealthSpark Foundation. Prior to this, Dr. Sheriff was the Dean of Holistic Support at Montgomery County Community College. She has over 20 years of professional experience as an educator, program director, and administrator. In 2007, Dr. Sheriff founded the organizational management consulting firm, The Institute for Balance and Restoration (recently renamed Dr. Kem Speaks). The organization strives to identify and cultivate sustainable organizational, leadership and employee resiliency for academic institutions, corporate and non-profit business. Shifting away from organizational management, Dr. Kem Speaks now focuses on coaching individuals and leaders experiencing a period of “stuckness” in goal and project completion.  Dr. Sheriff served as a consultant to several human service, education, and youth development programs in Philadelphia and the surrounding suburbs. In her consultation role, she worked on significant projects like the development of the Pennsylvania Keystone Stars with the United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania and establishing the truancy partnership between the Department of Human Services, Philadelphia School District and the Philadelphia Family Court system. She received a Bachelor of Art for the combined study of Psychology and Political Science at Albright College and earned a Master of Social Service in program planning, development, and analysis from Bryn Mawr College. Dr. Sheriff received her doctorate in Higher Education from Immaculata University in January 2019. Her dissertation, “Finishing in Faith: An Autoethnographic Exploration of the Intersection of Faith and Doctoral Program Completion”, examined how Black, Christian women, applied their faith as a persistence strategy to complete their doctoral programs. She hopes to use this research to advance strength-based research and persistence and completion initiatives to support goal and project completion.