Emerging Leader 2023

KELLEE HILL, EdD Development Officer | Meharry Medical College

Dr. Kellee Hill is a change-maker in the field of education, and she has exhibited leadership, ingenuity, and representation in spaces not historically occupied by women of color. In her 12 years as an educator, Dr. Hill has sought to push the envelope regarding STEM education and student participation among marginalized groups. Along with her service to MNPS schools, as a small business owner, she is working to change the access students of color have to post-secondary education.

Dr. Hill has been involved in ensuring change in public schools by increasing exposure to science and STEM learning opportunities; as a Turn-Around core teacher from 2015-2018, she instructed in an MNPS school ranked in the bottom 5% of the state. Within her three years as an instructor, she helped achieve two years of academic growth in 7thgrade science, 6th Grade science, and mathematics. Before serving as a Turn-Around Educator, Dr. Hill worked with the Tennessee Department of Education to instruct intervention math to educators in the upper Cumberland and eastern rural areas of Tennessee, to improve learning outcomes for those communities that often lack access to new technologies.

Dr. Hill has served on several organizations including the Junior League of Nashville, Tennessee State University Nashville Alumni, Impact 100, and the Teacher Advisory Council for Belmont University. Her accolades and awards include the Nashville Public Education Foundation Community Favorite Award, Athena Young Professional Nominee, Women in Technology of Tennessee Scholarship Recipient, Phi Beta Sigma’s Educator of the Year Award, Middle Tennessee Middle School Science Educator of the Year Nominee, and Tennessee Education Association New Teacher of the Year Nominee.

Dr. Hill attended Tennessee State University where she earned her Bachelor of Science in Biology and Chemistry and a master’s degree in animal science. She went on to Carson-Newman University to earn her Education Specialist degree in Curriculum and Instruction and then completed her Doctor of Education degree in Educational, Instructional, and Curriculum Supervision. Ever the learner, Dr. Hill also completed a second master’s degree at Vanderbilt University in Teaching and Learning in Urban Settings.