Paula Forbes
Founder of the Finding Human Institute
Paula Forbes is a transformational leadership consultant and founder of The Finding Human Institute, a national consultancy dedicated to supporting superintendents, school boards, and educational leaders in creating human-centered systems rooted in equity, clarity, and belonging. For more than three decades, Paula has served as a trusted legal advisor, strategic facilitator, and courageous guide through complexity, change, and resistance in education systems.
Known as a conversation catalyst, Paula creates the conditions for transformative dialogue that moves organizations forward. Whether coaching a superintendent, facilitating a student summit, or designing a racial equity protocol, she brings deep empathy, strategic insight, and a commitment to cultivating courageous leadership across systems.
A Legacy of Systems-Level Change
She expanded this work through a collaboration with the Minneapolis Foundation in 2019 to launch The Student Conference, gathering over 1,500 students to reflect on racial equity in education. In 2020, she hosted a virtual equity summit with AMSD and the Foundation, bringing together over 300 school board members. That same year, she was selected to facilitate Governor Walz’s Education Roundtable on race and equity in Minnesota schools.
Following the murder of George Floyd in 2020, Paula designed and facilitated The Racial Harm Protocol Conference for School Districts. Her leadership helped catalyze a statewide student conference in 2023 addressing racial bias in athletics.
In 2015, Paula was invited to consult with 17 superintendents and educational leaders in the wake of the Alejandra Cruz-Guzman v. State of Minnesota lawsuit. Instead of entering litigation, the superintendents—under Paula’s facilitation—formed a collaborative through the Association of Metropolitan School Districts (AMSD) that would become the statewide initiative known as Reimagine Minnesota. Paula led community engagement efforts across 48 school districts, collecting over 3,000 voices from students, parents, and educators. The work identified nine district-wide strategies to improve integration, equity, and educational excellence—work that continues to shape Minnesota’s educational landscape today.
The Finding Human Institute
In 2022, Paula founded The Finding Human Institute LLC to deepen her commitment to human-centered leadership, equity, and belonging. Through immersive professional development programs, retreats, and facilitation training, the Institute helps leaders cultivate self-awareness, lead with authenticity, and create inclusive spaces where all people can thrive. These participatory learning experiences invite leaders to examine their personal stories and identities to uncover how their lived experiences shape the way they lead and serve.
Teaching & Thought Leadership
Paula is an adjunct professor at the University of Minnesota, where she has taught Education and the Law to future school leaders since 2006. She also teaches Public Policy and Leadership at Concordia University. In every role—facilitator, coach, professor, or keynote speaker—Paula brings the full weight of her lived experience, legal expertise, and compassionate leadership to help systems transform and leaders grow into their highest impact.
Paula Forbes, J.D. is a transformational leadership consultant, executive coach, and founder of The Finding Human Institute LLC, a national consultancy that helps individuals and organizations lead with courage, clarity, and compassion. A three-year breast cancer survivor and lifelong change agent, Paula draws on her lived experience of transformation to help others navigate life and leadership with purpose and joy. Her passion is guiding clients to align their gifts with their greater purpose—realizing abundance not through struggle, but through their own magic, authenticity, and ease. Through coaching, retreats, and professional development, Paula empowers people to lead and live fully human lives grounded in equity, love, and possibility.
