(Kristine Reeves, PhD, holds a photo from her high school graduation with her grandmother, twin brother. and uncle. Photo credit: Cassidy Rehwaldt)
When Kristine Reeves crossed the stage at Seattle Pacific University this past spring to receive her doctorate in Industrial-Organizational Psychology, the moment represented far more than the completion of a degree. As a child navigating foster care, homelessness, and the challenges of having a parent struggling with addiction, she learned early that systems have enormous power. They can create opportunity, stability, and hope — or they can leave people feeling invisible. Yet even amid hardship, Reeves experienced the life-changing impact of people who chose to care.
“I learned that government and community can be a force for good in the world,” she said. “Whether it was foster care, food assistance, or public-school educators who cared deeply about my health and well being far beyond the classroom.”
Those experiences planted questions that would shape the course of her life: How do institutions help people feel seen? How do leaders create hope? And how can systems better serve those whose voices are often overlooked?
She often pondered these questions, and today, these questions remain at the heart of her work.
“For me, it has always felt more like a calling than a career,” Reeves said. “The titles have changed, but the mission has remained remarkably consistent. I have always been drawn to improving systems so that people have a fair chance to succeed.”
Along the way, Reeves became increasingly interested in leadership, particularly the qualities that allow leaders to build trust across differences. Her own experience as a leader increased as she became the first Afro-Latina woman to be elected to the Washington state legislature in 2016. A few years later, she again was the first Afro-Latina woman to run for Congress in the state, coming in third out of 19 candidates in the primary. When she came to SPU, the curiosity about how to become a better leader led her to the concept of cultural humility.
What began as a research interest became the foundation of her doctoral work and a lens through which she viewed much of her own life experience.
“The more I studied it, the more I realized it wasn’t simply an academic concept,” Reeves said. “It explained many of the best and worst leadership experiences I had observed throughout my life.”
Her dissertation explored whether cultural humility helps leaders become more authentic and, in turn, develop greater resilience, confidence, hope, and optimism.
In an increasingly polarized world, Reeves believes those qualities matter more than ever.
“Cultural humility provides a way for leaders to engage difference with curiosity instead of certainty and relationship instead of assumption,” she said.
But earning a doctorate was not simply an academic pursuit. It was also deeply personal.
As a former foster youth, first-generation college graduate, working mother, woman of color, state legislator, and Congressional candidate, Reeves often found herself entering spaces where few people shared her lived experience.
“There were a lot of moments where folks said I wouldn’t make it, or that I couldn’t do it,” she said.
The most difficult challenge, however, was overcoming her own doubts. Those doubts intensified in 2024 when she failed her comprehensive exams on the first attempt.
“I was devastated,” Reeves said. “That setback fed all my insecurities about myself.”
Instead of ending her journey, the setback became a turning point.
“Failing was also a pivotal moment when I realized I wanted this experience for me, and I was going to be darned if I would let anything stand in my way of completing it.”
That determination was strengthened by the support she found at Seattle Pacific.
Reeves credits faculty members with helping her see herself differently. Some challenged her intellectually while affirming that her lived experiences belonged in scholarly conversations. Others helped restore her confidence as a leader and reminded her that her voice mattered.
Because of that encouragement, Reeves said, she ended up running for state legislature again in 2022.
“Ultimately, this experience changed my relationship with imposter syndrome,” she said. “It is because of these people that my time at SPU was life-changing.”
Her cohort became equally important. After years of relying primarily on herself, Reeves learned the power of interdependence through classmates who celebrated successes, shared frustrations, and offered encouragement through some of the program’s most demanding moments.
“One of the greatest lessons of the doctoral program was learning that I didn’t have to do it alone,” she said.
Throughout it all, her greatest motivation remained her two children.
“I wanted my children to see that learning doesn’t stop when adulthood begins and that difficult things are worth pursuing.”
Today, Reeves hopes to use her research to strengthen organizations, public institutions, and communities. She is particularly passionate about helping leaders navigate complexity, build trust, and create environments where people feel they belong.
When asked what she hopes others take away from her story, her answer is immediate.
“Our beginnings do not define our endings.”
The young girl who once struggled to imagine a future beyond survival could never have predicted this moment. Yet Reeves believes her story is proof of what becomes possible when people are given support, opportunity, and someone willing to believe in them before they can believe in themselves.
SPU’s doctoral program in Industrial-Organiation Psychology will help you gain expertise in designing interventions, conducting high-impact research, and leading workplace transformation.
