About Us
Management as Tradecraft
TM
Tractus Strategic Partners was founded in 2021 to meet a growing need: helping organizations strengthen their management practices and plan for the future. We believe good management is not a given—it is a skill that can be developed, practiced, and refined over time.
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Our name, Tractus (Latin for "progress," "course," or "drawing out") describes the path an organization follows. We believe that path should be intentional, guided by strong management and thoughtful strategy.
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Our Vision: A world where management is a respected craft, and organizations thrive because of it.
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Our Mission: Empowering managers to solve today's challenges and plan tomorrow's successes.
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Our Guiding Principles:
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Integrity: No smoke, no mirrors.
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Holistic: Everything's connected; we help you see it.
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Empathy: Your organization is one-of-a-kind; we treat it that way.
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Balance: Big ideas with practical steps.
Kimberly A. Carlson, Ph.D.
Chief Executive Officer
Co-Founder
Charity L. Boyette, Ph.D.
Chief Operating Officer
Co-Founder
Kimberly Carlson is CEO and Principal Partner of Tractus Strategic Partners, where she helps organizations strengthen management capability, clarify strategic direction, and build aligned, high-performing teams. Her work focuses on strategic planning, management development, team effectiveness, board and volunteer development, and stakeholder engagement.
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For more than twenty-five years, Kimberly has worked at the intersection of leadership, strategy, and organizational effectiveness in higher education, nonprofit organizations, and the public sector. Before co-founding Tractus, she held faculty and leadership positions at Virginia Tech in management, public administration, honors education, global programs, and advancement.
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Kimberly earned bachelor's degrees in psychology and theatre from Virginia Tech, a Master of Clinical Social Work from Florida State University, and a Ph.D. in Public Administration and Public Affairs from Virginia Tech, where her research focused on nonprofit management, organizational leadership, governance, and succession planning.
When she's not working with clients, Kimberly enjoys just about any excuse to learn or create—whether that's hiking and camping, trying a new recipe, sewing, reading, or spending time with her husband, Eric, and their two dogs, Sophie and Miles.
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Charity Boyette has more than two decades of experience in managing teams and programs, with a particular focus in managerial excellence and team leadership, engagement, and development.
Currently, she is an Assistant Professor of Practice in Management within the Pamplin College of Business at Virginia Tech. From 2009-2018, she was a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Department of State, serving overseas tours in Nigeria, Poland, and Belgium, as well as assignments in Washington, DC, including two years on Secretary of State Kerry’s travel team. Prior to her federal service, Charity worked in leadership development, operations, and finance in the U.S. defense industry.
She holds a Ph.D. with a focus on public-sector workforce engagement and development from the Center for Public Administration and Policy at Virginia Tech. She earned her MBA, with a focus in strategic development, from the Mason School of Business at the College of William & Mary and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Averett University in Virginia