kristy kumar

kristy kumar (she, her, hers) is the City of Madison’s inaugural Equity and Social Justice Manager. kumar and her team oversee the Racial Equity and Social Justice Initiative, Disability Rights and Services, Neighborhood Resource Teams, and Language Access. kumar provides leadership and strategic guidance to the Mayor, legislators, and all City departments in normalizing intersectional equity, organizing staff to work together for transformational change, and operationalizing new practices, policies, and procedures that help everyone experience wellbeing.

Previously she worked at Brown University and was a Fulbright Scholar in Malaysia. She has a background in anti-human trafficking efforts, youth-organizing, interpersonal violence prevention, and community care. kumar received her M.A. in Human Rights focusing on race, gender, and equity from the University of Denver and a B.A. in Political Science and Global Poverty and Practices from the University of California, Berkeley. She’s a proud first-generation immigrant whose passions include daydreaming about her next meal and who she can share it with and enjoying nature with her partner, two kids, and dog.