Kristina Ashley Williams, the CEO of Unpacking, is a lot of things. She teaches. She is a champion for social justice and she is a highly-touted speaker whose personality, subject matter expertise and experiential design are actively on display for the leading online learning platform for social impact.
We sat down with the NAACP award nominee to learn more about the creative process that makes Unpacking go.
Please describe your leadership style.
I believe in the power of collaboration and as the CEO I lead the vision of where we’re going, but I am very intentional about including all voices in the design process, which determines how we get there. There is truly no greater excitement for me than watching my team of geniuses riff off of each other in creative ideations to come up with new ideas, solutions and strategies.
What is your mission statement?
I am on a mission to experience and spread radical joy.
What three skills are critical for the future executive you hire for your organization?
Empathy, futurist vision [and] grit.
How do you utilize technology to benefit your organization?
We are all about automation and streamlined workflows at Unpacking, so we integrate Airtable and Zapier to most everything.
What are you reading now? Name your two favorite books.
I’m currently reading Building for Everyone and Design Justice, plus rereading Caste. My favorite book is The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle.
