I design ecosystems that hold talent across institutional boundaries.

Dr. Keisha Scarlett, Rubescent strategic consultant and former superintendent
Dr. Keisha Scarlett, Rubescent strategic consultant and former superintendent

Revealing talent and building the structures that prevent it from being wasted in complex public systems.

I work with a small number of public sector leaders each year.

This work is for leaders responsible for systems where talent is being lost — and where the cost of failure is real.

When systems are designed poorly, talent gets stranded between institutions.

Over twenty years in education and civic systems, I've identified a consistent pattern: when talented people disappear from organizations, it's rarely a failure of ability. It's a failure of infrastructure.

I developed a framework that diagnoses where systems leak talent across five domains: relational, navigational, opportunity, institutional, and measurement infrastructure.

Most organizations focus on outcomes. I focus on the conditions that produce them. When systems don’t align across institutions, talent leaks out — quietly, expensively, and repeatedly.

When that happens, outcomes stall — not because people lack ability, but because the system fails to hold them.

Ready to see your system differently?

I take on a small number of high-trust engagements each year.


If you are responsible for a system where talent is being wasted, we can explore whether this work fits.