Moonshot Announces New CEO, Kat Ling
Moonshot is honored to share that Kat Ling has been named our new CEO.
Kat has been leading the organization as Interim CEO since December 2020, and we are thrilled to make it official. Kat brings to the role extensive experience in racial equity work, school innovation, educational nonprofit work, and leadership development. Kat's leadership embodies deep love for and belief in people and an unwavering dedication to creating equity for kids.
Kat began her journey with Moonshot in 2019 as Chief of Staff, when she worked with the founder, Christine DeLeon (CDL), to build up the organization’s infrastructure and systems, hire a full team, and expand alumni services. Kat was promoted to Chief Program Officer after a year. In the CPO role, she led the Fellowship program for Cohorts 3 and 4, supported the 50+ alumni network in launching and sustaining their ventures, and hired two more staff to join the Moonshot team. Kat transitioned into the Interim CEO role in December 2020 and led the team over the past year to launch Cohort 5, support 68+ alumni, run an Incubator pilot for organizations in Washington and Las Vegas seeking to run their own Moonshot Fellowship, and launch the Residency, a full time program for future school founders.
Kat began her career as a 4th grade teacher in rural Mississippi through Teach For America. She joined Teach For America staff to help start the Arkansas region, where she worked for six years coaching K-12 teachers, designing the region’s first diversity, equity & inclusiveness program, and managing a team to support a 500+ alumni network across Arkansas and Mississippi. Kat served as Chair of Teach For America’s National Asian American Pacific Islander Resource Group which supported the 200+ AAPI staff members in the organization. Outside of her work with TFA, Kat co-founded the Arkansas chapter for GLSEN, a national organization dedicated to creating safe schools for all students, regardless of gender or sexual orientation. She was Board Chair for five years; during that time, Kat also served on GLSEN’s National Advisory Council and the Race & Privilege Advisory Committee, worked as a Certified Facilitator, and completed a Master’s thesis where she designed a Racial Equity Fellowship for GLSEN chapter leaders across the country.
Kat graduated magna cum laude from Cornell University with a major in English and minor in Feminist, Gender & Sexuality Studies. She received a Master’s from the Clinton School of Public Service in 2019. Kat grew up in Connecticut but considers her home everywhere she has family: Colorado, Washington, D.C., Connecticut, Maryland, Ohio, Florida, and more.
Kat currently serves as a Board Member on the Teach For America National LGBTQ+ Advisory Council, a Director on the Vanguard Classical School board in Aurora, and a Commissioner for the Denver Mayor’s LGBTQ Commission. She is a part of the Leadership Denver Class of 2022.