Our Team and Advisors
Lydia Kumar
Founder and Principal
Lydia Freeman Kumar is the founder of Kinwise, a consulting and learning practice that helps mission-driven organizations and schools build AI readiness and embrace practical, ethical adoption.
Grounded in her background as an educator and leadership coach, Lydia bridges the gap between AI strategy and real-world practice. She partners with leaders to align technology use with organizational values, equip educators and teams with practical skills, and design systems that balance innovation, ethics, and well-being.
Before launching Kinwise, Lydia led educator training and innovation work with Public Impact. She also taught at KIPP ENC and was a TFA corps member.
Lydia is pursuing her Executive MBA at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School and lives in Durham, North Carolina.
Connect with Lydia through LinkedIn
Summer Hill
Advisor, Teacher Leadership & Change Management
Summer Hill has dedicated her career to strengthening teacher leadership as a driver of school improvement. With over 15 years of experience as a classroom teacher, instructional coach, and consultant, she brings a deep understanding of what strong teaching and leadership look like in practice.
As a former Senior Consultant at Public Impact, Summer supported districts across North Carolina in designing staffing models, developing teacher leader teams, and delivering professional learning that elevates educators as leaders of change.
Before her consulting work, Summer spent more than a decade teaching middle and high school and coaching teachers in Durham Public Schools, where she honed her skill in building trust, leading teams, and translating data into meaningful growth.
She believes that teacher leaders are positioned to champion AI literacy and guide schools toward thoughtful, human-centered adoption. As an advisor to Kinwise, Summer brings both her practical classroom insight and her systems-level expertise to help organizations prepare educators for the future of learning.
Connect with Summer through LinkedIn.
Abbey Torrence
Advisor, Instructional Leadership & Curriculum Design Consultant
Abbey Torrence is an experienced educator and instructional leader with over a decade of impact in high school mathematics education, curriculum design, and teacher coaching. She has led instructional strategy and professional learning as an Assistant Principal of Instruction at KIPP Denver Collegiate, where her coaching and data-driven systems improved both teaching quality and student outcomes.
A recipient of the Harriet Ball Excellence in Teaching Award, Abbey brings deep expertise in designing equitable, high-quality curriculum and supporting sustainable teacher growth. At Kinwise, she contributes to the development of human-centered learning frameworks that help schools and organizations integrate AI and innovation while staying grounded in instructional excellence and student success.
Based in Durham, North Carolina, Abbey combines strategic insight with a teacher’s heart, helping teams bridge the gap between innovation and meaningful learning.
Connect with Abbey through LinkedIn