Rani Somers | Director of Learning Networks

Rani Somers serves as director of learning networks for the Kansas Leadership Center. She believes meaningful relationships are built when people engage around a shared purpose. In her role, she supports KLC’s Community Leadership Programs, Common Good Partnerships and other learning network initiatives, bringing people together to learn from one another, strengthen partnerships and support communities across Kansas.

Before joining KLC, Rani spent a decade in higher education, where her work included student engagement, recruitment and outreach, and program management. A proud member of Delta Phi Epsilon Sorority, she serves on the board of directors for the organization’s Educational Foundation and is the lead advisor for the chapter at Ursinus College in Pennsylvania. Rani earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a Master of Science in Education from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, as well as a Master of Human Resource Management from Wichita State University. She jokes that she’s finished collecting college degrees, though she admits she might be persuaded to pursue a Ph.D. someday.

A self-appointed Midwest Princess, Rani hails from southern Illinois but has called Wichita home for nearly 10 years. If you ask her what her favorite part of life is, she’ll tell you it’s being an aunt to her three wonderful nephews. She frequently makes quick trips to the St. Louis area to cheer them on at baseball games, orchestra performances and theater productions. Outside of work, she enjoys cozy hobbies like puzzles, coloring and reading romance novels, browsing antique stores, watching true crime documentaries and traveling. She is also a proud fur mom to her feisty Chihuahua, Maggie, and is on a mission to visit every presidential library and museum. Three down, 12 to go.