Keivin F. Kilgore has spent his career working where people, policy, and pressure meet. His path did not start in a boardroom. It started in community rooms, school hallways, and workplaces where people wanted to be heard.
Today, Kilgore is a senior leader in employee and labor relations. His work spans healthcare systems, government services, and global corporations. Along the way, he has built a reputation for calm leadership, clear thinking, and a steady focus on people.
This is the story of how that approach was formed.
Early Life and Values Shaped in Texas
Kilgore grew up in the Dallas area, in a small Texas community. His parents set a strong example early on. His mother worked as a school principal in the Dallas Independent School District. His father owned a small pizza franchise. Education, service, and faith were part of everyday life.
Church also played a central role. His father served as a deacon and church board member. His mother taught Sunday school. Kilgore was active in the hospitality ministry at Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship.
“These were places where you learned how to show up for people,” he says. “You learned responsibility early.”
In school, Kilgore stayed busy. He played basketball, ran track, and participated in band. He completed AP coursework and graduated from DeSoto High School. Teachers and classmates noticed his leadership early, shaping how he connects with people today.
Education Focused on People and Business
After high school, Kilgore attended Wabash College, where he double majored in political science and speech communication. The liberal arts foundation helped him understand how systems work and how people move within them.
He later earned his MBA from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota, where his focus shifted toward leadership, strategy, and organizational effectiveness. He then pursued his Juris Doctor (JD) at Purdue, specializing in Employment and Labour Law.
“Understanding the law helps you make better decisions for people and organizations,” he says.
He also holds senior-level professional certifications, including SPHR and SHRM-SCP distinctions.
Starting in Community Organizing
Kilgore’s career began as a community organizer in Louisville, Kentucky, with Citizens of Louisville Organizing United Together.
That experience grounded him.
“It was about helping people who felt stuck,” he says. “Listening came before solving.”
The role taught him that conflict often begins when people feel unheard—a lesson that later shaped his work in labor relations.
Growing Through Human Resources Leadership
Kilgore later joined Sodexo, one of the world’s largest outsourcing companies. He started as a district human resources manager and rose into senior leadership as divisional organizational development manager for the government division.
During this time, he created service and training programs focused on accountability and performance. Some of those programs remain in use today.
He then moved into healthcare leadership roles at organizations including Allina Health and Children’s Healthcare, where he led talent acquisition and employee relations during periods of growth and change.
One defining moment occurred in Minnesota, when more than 70 employees marched to his office over scheduling concerns.
“It started as a confrontation,” he recalls. “But it became a conversation.”
Rather than making quick promises, he worked with leadership to find a sustainable solution. That moment reinforced his belief in collaboration over conflict.
Navigating Complex Labor Environments
Kilgore later served in senior employee and labor relations leadership at Vanderbilt Healthcare before being recruited to The Walt Disney Company. During his four years at Disney, he helped build and scale employee and labor relations functions in a highly complex environment.
He then spent two years at ADP before joining L3Harris.
Today, Kilgore serves as Senior Principal for Employee and Labor Relations at L3Harris, where he oversees global labor relations strategy and acts as a chief negotiator.
“People don’t care what you know until they know that you care,” he says. “That’s real in this field.”
Leadership Beyond the Workplace
Community involvement has remained a constant throughout Kilgore’s career. While in Minnesota, he served as President of the National Pan-Hellenic Council, where he helped charter the NPHC chapter at the University of Minnesota.
He also chaired United Way giving campaigns, leading the most successful campaign within that healthcare system. In addition, he served on the YWCA ‘Let’s Talk About Race’ steering committee, supporting open dialogue and community engagement.
Today, he serves on the American Heart Association of Central Florida’s Heart Ball committee, continuing his commitment to service.
Leadership Philosophy and What Drives Him
Kilgore believes human resources works best when it understands both the business and the people equally.
“Your biggest asset is your people,” he says. “Not the tools. Not the technology.”
He measures success not just by outcomes, but by effort and progress.
“Sometimes it’s about how close you got,” he explains. “Are we better than when we started?”
Outside of work, Kilgore enjoys traveling with his wife, Moneaka, and their daughter, Mekenizie. He reads, writes poetry, and attends conferences to continue sharpening his craft.
“If you spend most of your life at work,” he says, “it shouldn’t make you miserable.”
That belief continues to guide his career—one conversation, one negotiation, and one workplace at a time.
Read more:
Keivin Kilgore: Building Trust at the Center of Work
