We’re excited to welcome Leslie Kerns to One Degree’s Board of Directors. Her commitment to dignity, narrative change, and systems transformation reflects the heart of our mission.
When you speak with Leslie Kerns, one theme rises above all others: the belief that every person deserves the chance not merely to survive, but to thrive in this world. It is a philosophy shaped by her earliest memories, watching her mother, a single parent of six, pull her family out of poverty and into the middle class through determination, resourcefulness, and a deep sense of purpose. “We should do whatever it takes to flourish,” Leslie shared, reflecting on the guiding principle that has shaped every chapter of her life.
“That idea, that we’re meant to thrive, not just get by, has informed every career decision I’ve made.”
This commitment to meaningful impact propelled Leslie from an early career in law into public relations, nonprofit communications, advocacy, and ultimately social change consulting. She led communications, advocacy, and integrated campaigns at firms like M&R and partnered with organizations such as Public Welfare Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, the Vera Institute of Justice, and The Frameworks Institute. With each career move, she grew more focused on whether her work created real, measurable improvement in people’s lives, continuously choosing to “do more,” as she puts it, to ensure her daily work translated into better outcomes for communities. That intention led her to launch 1235 Strategies, a consultancy named after her childhood street address. Leslie leads the firm while assembling senior-level partners as needed, creating teams tailored to each client’s goals. “Strategy should reflect an organization’s goals and what it takes to achieve them, not the services or people a consulting firm happens to have under one roof,” she explained. 1235 Strategies brings top talent together to deliver communications, branding, narrative change, and advocacy strategies that help purpose-driven organizations accelerate impact.
This same ethos is what drew Leslie to One Degree. In her words, the alignment felt immediate and profound. One Degree’s mission, to make essential resources accessible so that families can build healthy, fulfilling lives, mirrors her own belief that systems should empower people to flourish. She also sees the organization’s approach as both innovative and deeply practical: “Technology helps so many of us in the middle class and above easily meet our daily needs, from finding housing to accessing healthcare to applying for jobs. There’s no reason that the same technology can’t be used to help lower-income families meet theirs.” Leslie speaks candidly about the broken social safety net and the harmful assumptions embedded within it. The idea that lower-income individuals don’t engage with digital tools or won’t follow through if offered online pathways reflects our incorrect assumptions. “These assumptions aren’t intentional,” she said, “but they’re still harmful. They hold us back from designing systems in ways that respect people’s dignity and capabilities.” For her, One Degree is dismantling those assumptions by proving that modern, human-centered technology can and should be accessible to everyone.
On the board, Leslie hopes to contribute her experience as a strategist, communicator, and narrative architect, skills that bridge policy, partnerships, digital engagement, media, and social justice. She has helped organizations shift public sentiment, connect communities to benefits, and use narrative to advance structural change. She sees an opportunity to bring those tools to One Degree in a way that strengthens both the organization’s growth and its impact.
“If One Degree thrives, then more low-income families and communities can thrive”
Outside of her professional life, Leslie brings a vibrant sense of creativity and joy. She is an avid practitioner of improv, a hobby she calls both playful and grounding. She performs with a studio in Los Angeles and describes the practice as an antidote to stress, a pathway to presence, and a reminder of the importance of play in a world that often demands constant seriousness.
We are honored to welcome Leslie Kerns to One Degree’s Board of Directors. Her commitment to dignity, her belief in people’s potential to thrive, and her leadership in narrative, strategy, and impact will strengthen our work in powerful ways. As we continue building a more connected, compassionate, and technologically modern safety net, her voice and vision will help guide the path forward.
Welcome, Leslie. We are grateful to build this future with you.