Kimberly Shiner, Principal and Senior Consultant, supports executive search and interim leadership engagements with ZRG’s Education, Nonprofit, & Social Impact practice. Before her career in talent services, Kimberly worked at the intersection of transformational philanthropy and intentional leadership development for nearly three decades.

Throughout her career, she has contributed to transformational fundraising campaigns with combined goals exceeding $9 billion, secured gifts ranging from $500,000 to $10 million, and built high-impact teams, boards, and stakeholder partnerships for major universities and nonprofit organizations. Her work has centered on mobilizing philanthropy to advance institutional mission, building boards that sustain long-term impact, and creating intentional leadership pathways for advancement professionals, particularly women and people of color. She has cultivated relationships with Fortune 500 companies, national philanthropic foundations, notable individual donors, and key community and business leaders. Kimberly has also coached and mentored advancement professionals and emerging leaders into executive-level advancement roles at colleges and universities across the country.

She has built and led teams spanning alumni relations, major gifts, corporate and foundation relations, government and community relations, strategic communications, and operations, coaching teams of up to 100 professionals around institutional excellence and shared mission. She has also supported advocacy efforts on behalf of the California State University system and public higher education.

Most recently, Kimberly served as interim vice president for university advancement and executive director of the Cal State Fullerton Philanthropic Foundation, where she managed an endowment of $170 million and served on the president's cabinet. Previously, she served as vice president for advancement and communications at Pitzer College and associate vice president for advancement at California State University, San Bernardino. Earlier, she spent 13 years at the University of Southern California in leadership roles with the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, the Keck School of Medicine of USC, and USC Government and Civic Engagement.

Kimberly began her career in public relations, specializing in executive communications, media and analyst relations, and brand strategy. She served as president of Leadership California, a statewide nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing executive women leaders. She holds a master's degree in public administration and a bachelor's degree in journalism from California State University, Northridge.

Outside of work, Kimberly enjoys spending time with family, dancing, watching classic films, and growing her ranch with her husband, Cedric, and more than 500 animals, including chickens, pigs, goats, and a bull named Red.

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