Khanya Strategy
Strategy, Systems, and Social Impact
Why Khanya?
I drew inspiration from a treasured book from my South African childhood, The Wood-Ash Stars by Marguerite Poland, based on a San myth. A young girl helps a lost hunter find his way home by throwing embers from her fire into the night sky. The embers scattered across the heavens, creating a trail of stars to light his path.
That story stayed with me. Khanya means “light” in Zulu and Xhosa. It captures what I believe good advisory work does, not prescribing a single route, but helping organizations see their options clearly and choose their own path forward. And for me personally, it felt right to transform the embers of one chapter into the light of the next.
What I Do
I help organizations navigate complexity through collaborative advisory services that align mission, operating systems, and fundraising strategies to maximize social impact.
I bring systems thinking and people-first problem solving in equal measure. I’m most useful in complex, ambiguous environments where someone needs to create order, build trust across functions, and keep strategic priorities from getting lost in the noise.
How I Can Help
Strategic Planning & Implementation: From landscape analysis and competitive positioning to translating strategy into actionable roadmaps your team will actually use.
Fundraising Strategy: Developing multi-year funding strategies, positioning organizations competitively, and building the systems that support sustainable revenue generation.
Organizational Change & Systems Design: Diagnosing dysfunction, designing human-centered solutions, and building internal capacity that holds after I step back.
Facilitation & Convening: Designing and leading strategic planning retreats, cross-functional workshops, and multi-stakeholder sessions that build consensus and produce decisions that stick.
My Background
I’m Kiera Derman, a strategic operations leader with 14+ years building systems, leading change, and serving as the trusted partner that executive teams turn to when things are complex, stuck, or scaling faster than the infrastructure can support.
My career spans Save the Children US, NCBA CLUSA, FHI 360, and the National Women’s Shelter Network, across nonprofit and international development contexts. I’ve led the operational turnaround of a $75M high-risk USAID project, built organizational infrastructure from scratch in startup environments, and served as C-suite strategic advisor facilitating board-level planning and cross-functional alignment.
I bring the same energy and rigor to a three-person team navigating its first strategic plan as I do to a 150-person international portfolio.
I hold an MPA from George Washington University and have worked across Africa, the Caribbean, and beyond. I’m based in the DC metro area and work with clients remotely and in person.
When I’m not working, I write, practice yoga (RYT-200), and am raising one fierce and fiery kid in the DC area.
Let’s talk.
Between Home and Away 