Karima Wilson '99 Launches EDI Consulting Firm

This story appeared in the Winter 2020-2021 issue of Indian Springs Magazine.

Karima Wilson ’99 grew up in a biracial household in Birmingham. Living in the legacy of the civil rights movement shaped her view of the world and inspired her to build a brighter future for young people of color everywhere.

During her time at Indian Springs, Karima explored her interest in world languages and cultures. She was awarded an Abroms Scholarship to study abroad in Japan, igniting a lifelong love of travel and goals of becoming multilingual. She continued her education at Swarthmore College, earning a bachelor’s degree in sociology and anthropology.

As a student at Swarthmore, Karima received the Lang Opportunity Scholarship to develop a training program for individuals interested in volunteering. The program addressed cross-cultural issues such as saviorism and paternalism. She also began working as a facilitator for the Birmingham Chapter of the National Conference for Community and Justice.

“The opportunities I had in school were the defining aspects of my life,” says Karima. “Through my experiences, I saw that education was the way to make a difference.”

Karima began her career with Teach for America as a bilingual instructor in Houston, Texas. After seven years, she joined KIPP Sharpstown College Prep as the founding reading teacher and advanced to serve as assistant principal and, ultimately, principal. While she enjoyed working in education, racial inequities in the system began to weigh on her.

“There were students we weren’t able to reach,” says Karima. “Teachers bear the brunt of underfunding, and too often, it felt like the most important work wasn’t getting done. That led to a lot of disappointment, and after 13 years, I was tired. I didn’t have a clear plan for where to go, but I had a dream about how things could be different and more just.”

Throughout her tenure as an educator, Karima continued to build upon her skills as a facilitator and trainer in the field of diversity, equity, and inclusion. One workshop at a time, her dream began to take the shape of a consulting business. In 2016, she enrolled in the Harvard Graduate School of Education and began exploring entrepreneurship.

“Harvard gave me time to process everything I had experienced,” says Karima. “I created my own plan of study addressing the changes I wanted to see in education. I learned about education policy and everything I would need to create my business.”

Karima launched her company, Forged Ed, in February 2017. Her mission is “to support educators as they build schools where students of color thrive.” She has worked with numerous organizations to facilitate workshops and design materials. Looking ahead, she hopes to write curriculums that will “create bridges for students to learn about each other.”

“It started with a couple of clients, and now it has grown a lot bigger,” says Karima. “More and more people are realizing this is a priority we can’t ignore.”