Kat Ling is the Chief Executive Officer of Moonshot, a Colorado-based nonprofit cultivating a community of equity-driven leaders to design and launch innovative education solutions with youth most impacted by inequity.
Kat joined Moonshot in 2019 as Chief of Staffand later served as Chief Program Officer, where she led Cohorts 3 and 4 of the Moonshot Fellowship and spearheaded a full redesign of the program into a virtual model during the pandemic. She became CEO in November 2021 after serving as Interim CEO.
Under Kat’s leadership, Moonshot has grown into a $2.5 million organization with a nine-person team and an alumni network of more than 135 education leaders advancing solutions across Colorado. During her tenure, the organization secured transformational funding, including a $1 million Yield Grant through MacKenzie Scott’s philanthropy. Kat has led Moonshot through a period of strategic growth focused on ecosystem-building, alumni advancement, and long-term sustainability for leaders of color in youth-serving fields.
Prior to Moonshot, Kat built her career in rural education and community organizing. At Teach For America – Arkansas & Mississippi, she served as Managing Director, leading a team that supported a 500+-member cross-state alumni network. She previously coached educators in southeast Arkansas as Manager of Teacher Leadership Development and served as Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusiveness, designing and facilitating cultural responsiveness and racial equity training for 100+ educators and staff. She also oversaw district partnerships, licensure, hiring, and placement for new educators statewide.
Kat serves as Outreach Chair of the Denver Mayor’s LGBTQ Commission, Board Chair of the local nonprofit Asian Girls Ignite, and Board Trustee for the Nord Family Foundation, based in Ohio. She is a member of Leadership Denver (Class of 2022), the Pahara Institute, the Colorado AAPI Giving Circle, and Co-Founder and Co-Chair of the Colorado LGBTQ+ Giving Circle.
Kat graduated magna cum laude from Cornell University with a degree in English and a minor in Feminist, Gender & Sexuality Studies. She holds a Master of Public Service from the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service, during which she designed a racial equity fellowship for GLSEN, a national LGBTQ equity nonprofit.