Diagnose before prescribing.
The visible problem is rarely the whole problem. Evidence decides the intervention—not a pre-packaged program.
About Winning Pathway® & Dr. Sarai Koo Built inside the systems we now help leaders correct.
Winning Pathway® is an organizational transformation advisory founded by Dr. Sarai Koo—a researcher, former federal leadership educator, and an invited expert at the ODNI Insider Threat Task Force Forum, where she shared culture and leadership strategies with 200+ senior leaders from 40+ federal executive agencies.
An educator since 1996 and a leader since 2002, she has worked across federal agencies, enterprise organizations, universities, and communities. The pattern was the same everywhere: capable people working inside conditions that made performance harder than it needed to be.
- Ph.D., EducationChapman University
- Federal ServiceInaugural Director & Leadership Educator & Organizational Culture Expert
- 200+ Senior leaders40+ federal agencies · ODNI forum, 2019
- Since 1996Educator & leadership developer
Who We Are
An advisory firm for leaders who need to know what is actually wrong.
Winning Pathway® works with executives, leadership teams, and complex organizations when the same pressure keeps returning—after the reorganization, the new hire, the training program, or the new strategy.
We do not start with a program to sell. We start by finding what is producing the condition: how people lead, decide, and relate, and how authority, structure, and process enable or constrain the work. Then we correct the conditions that matter and help the improvement hold.
Our methods—Re+Calibration™ and the Project SPICES™ framework—were developed by Dr. Sarai Koo through three decades of teaching, research, and practice across federal, enterprise, education, and community settings.
Winning Pathway® is a DBA of Project SPICES LLC.
People affect systems. Systems affect people. Performance depends on both.
People and systems, together.
We examine the human system and the operating system in the same inquiry, instead of blaming one and ignoring the other.
Protect confidentiality.
Leadership tension, structural weakness, and organizational risk are sensitive. We work with the discretion expected in senior leadership, federal, enterprise, and mission-critical environments.
Make it hold under pressure.
Success is not a good workshop. It is decisions, ownership, and execution that stay stronger after we step back.
Meet the Founder
The experience to see beneath the symptoms.
Intelligence. Executive leadership. Organizational transformation. One integrated perspective on what makes performance work.
The Perspective Behind the Work
Strong leaders need systems that work.
Dr. Sarai Koo brings more than 25 years of leadership experience across intelligence, executive leadership, education, and organizational change.
A former CIA intelligence officer, researcher, and executive advisor, she approaches recurring performance problems by examining the interaction between people, decisions, accountability, and structure.
Through Project SPICES™ LLC, she developed the proprietary Project SPICES™ and Re+Calibration™ frameworks to help leaders identify misalignment and restore more effective organizational conditions.
Before changing the people,
examine the system.
Experience & Distinctions
Intelligence
Former CIA intelligence officer
25+ Years
Executive and organizational leadership
Ph.D.
Education · Culture and Curricular Studies
Top 100
Chief Diversity Officers · National Diversity Council, 2024
Selected Impact
Examples from different initiatives across organizational improvement, leadership development, and education.
92.5%
Increase in operational efficiency
Reported in a prior organizational
process-improvement initiative
100+
Customized programs
Developed and delivered across
leadership, human capital,
and organizational culture
17,000+
People served
Through MAPS 4 College
educational access and
mentoring initiatives
Figures represent distinct initiatives and should not be interpreted as comparable outcomes or guarantees of future results.
Beyond the boardroom.
Dr. Koo's work also spans teaching, research, public speaking, media, and creative storytelling. Her published work includes Seoul Food and Marketing Without Money.
Her forthcoming book project, Organizational Misalignment, explores the conditions that can undermine even capable leaders and committed teams.
Explore Dr. Koo's Broader Work
A Different Starting Point
What if the problem isn't the people— but the system?
Begin with a confidential executive conversation about what your organization is experiencing.
Request a Confidential Executive Briefing [email protected]Credentials & Professional Distinctions
Research-trained. Field-tested.
Academic depth, executive experience, and specialized assessment expertise— brought together to understand what organizations need to perform.
The Foundation
Academic rigor. Applied expertise.
Education
Doctorate · 2013
Ph.D. in Education
Culture and Curricular Studies
Chapman University
Chapman University
M.A. in Human Development
Leadership in Education and Human Services;
College Teaching / Teaching Adults
Pacific Oaks College
Pacific Oaks College
B.A. in Human Development
Science and Technology; Theatre
University of California, San Diego
University of California, San Diego
UCLA Executive Education
Executive MBA coursework,
UCLA Anderson School of Management;
UCLA Venture Accelerator,
Activate & Accelerate programs
(2024–2025)
Professional Development
Executive Certificate in
Leadership Coaching
Georgetown University
Lean Six Sigma Green Belt
Process improvement and
operational effectiveness
Human Capital Institute Certifications
Strategic Workforce Planning;
Succession Planning & Talent Development;
People Analytics;
Business Strategy for HR
Strategic & Project Management
University of California, Irvine
Mediation & Conflict Resolution
Northern Virginia Mediation Services
Assessment Expertise
The right instrument. The right question.
Specialized qualifications across leadership, personality, emotional intelligence, talent, and organizational development instruments.
Leadership & Influence
Understanding leadership behaviors, feedback, relationships, and organizational influence.
- CCL Benchmarks® 360 Assessments
- SkillScope®
- Influence Style Indicator
- Leader Network Diagnostic
- Organization Workshop®
Personality & Talent
Exploring work styles, individual differences, career interests, and potential risk factors.
- Hogan Assessments
- Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI®)
- Everything DiSC® / DiSC
- FIRO-B®
- Strong Interest Inventory®
- Pearman Personality Integrator
- Risk Type Indicator
- Kuder Assessments
EQ & Change
Examining emotional intelligence, adaptability, and responses to organizational change.
- EQ-i 2.0®
- EQ 360®
- Change Style Indicator®
- Change Navigator
Professional qualification note: Dr. Koo reports advanced assessment qualifications, including Level C qualifications. Administration and interpretation are subject to instrument-specific training, publisher requirements, and applicable professional standards.
Explore Assessment ExpertiseSelected Recognition
Recognition across disciplines.
Honors spanning leadership, organizational inclusion, public service, and community impact.
2024
Top 100 Chief Diversity Officers
National Diversity Council
2024
DEI Influencer Award
National Diversity and
Leadership Conference
2024–
Forté Fellow
Fellowship beginning in 2024
2020
National Intelligence
Community Award Nomination
ODNI Insider Threat Task Force
Nomination, not award receipt
Nomination, not award receipt
2010–15
California Legislative Recognition
Certificates of Recognition from
the California State Senate and
State Assembly for MAPS 4 College
and Project SPICES
2011
Top 25 Next Generation
Korean American Community Leaders
The Korea Times
Credentials inform the work. Clarity drives the decision.
Discover how Winning Pathway® approaches organizational misalignment and performance challenges at the system level.
Request a Confidential Executive BriefingResearch · Speaking · Publications
Ideas grounded in research. Tested in practice.
Dr. Sarai Koo brings research, evaluation, and executive practice into the same conversation— connecting evidence with the realities leaders face.
Scholar · Practitioner · Speaker
- 300+ Keynotes, lectures & workshops
- 25 Peer-reviewed conference presentations
- 8 Research projects as principal investigator
- 13+ Research grant proposals awarded
Selected Work
On the stage. In the literature.
Contributions across organizational change, leadership, human development, and educational research.
Selected Speaking
Presentations
Change and Innovation:
Effecting Cultural Change
Leading Cultural Change
Season Your Personal &
Work Life with SPICES
Additional speaking engagements
SPICES Leadership:
Discover Your Polaris
Featured Speaker
Selected Publications
Peer Reviewed
The Effects of a Holistic
College Access Camp
on First-Gen Students
College Access Through
Youth-Led Afterschool
Programming
Naming and Un-Naming
a Research Study
“Participatory”
Additional publication
Minority Within a
Minority Paradox
Forthcoming Work
Editorial concept · Not the official cover
Organizational
Misalignment
Forthcoming Book
The hidden cost of organizational misalignment.
Re+Calibration™ | Organizational Misalignment: 155 Leadership Behaviors That Damage Trust, Culture, and Performance
A forthcoming work examining leadership behaviors and the conditions that undermine organizational performance.
Additional Works
Seoul Food — creative nonfiction reviewed by Kirkus Reviews; and the Marketing Without Money workbook.
The Advisory Network
The right expertise. At the right moment.
Complex organizations rarely fit one discipline. Our advisory network brings specialized perspective when the work calls for it.
01
Education & Community Systems
Dani Hernandez, M.Ed.
More than a decade of experience advancing educational access, cross-sector partnerships, and programs for multicultural communities. Brings insight into stakeholder alignment and institutional change.
02
Market Strategy & Enterprise Growth
John Pietro
Four decades across marketing, advertising, entrepreneurship, and enterprise growth. Brings practical perspective on competitive positioning, strategic focus, and market execution.
03
Institutional Leadership & Operations
Dr. George D. Taylor
Extensive executive and administrative experience across large institutions. Brings perspective on complex operations, organizational growth, and leadership at scale.
04
Governance & Intercultural Systems
Dr. Greg Tanaka, MBA
Interdisciplinary experience spanning law, finance, business, higher education, and public-sector leadership. Brings insight into governance, institutional complexity, and diverse stakeholders.
Our Engagement Philosophy
We do not assemble a larger team to look impressive. We bring in the expertise the condition requires.
Institutional Experience
Different institutions. Shared complexity.
From federal environments to higher education and enterprise, the challenge is consistent: aligning people, decisions, and systems so performance holds.
The Systems Perspective
Performance is shaped
between systems.
Sectors Represented
- Federal & Intelligence
- Financial Institutions
- Private Equity
- Higher Education
- Local Government
- Workforce Development
- Nonprofit
Experience across different institutional settings.
Two distinct records: organizations served through Project SPICES LLC, and institutions connected to Dr. Koo's professional work.
Organizational
Client Work
Client Work
Selected client organizations
Engagements delivered through Project SPICES LLC.
- Compass Diversified
- City of Cerritos
- SELACO Workforce Investment Board
- Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health
- Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services
- Additional universities, schools, and biotechnology organizations
Career &
Professional Involvement
Professional Involvement
Institutions in Dr. Koo's professional experience
Roles, appointments, teaching, speaking, and other professional involvement—not a client list.
- Central Intelligence Agency
- ODNI Insider Threat Task Force Forum participation and speaking engagement
- Federal executive agencies
- Center for Creative Leadership
- Major credit union Identified in the source as the nation's fifth-largest
- University of San Francisco School of Management
- Chapman University
- Concordia University Irvine
- Cal Poly Pomona Enterprises
- National Human Resources Association — Los Angeles
Start the Conversation
Bring us the pressure that keeps returning. We'll help you find its source.
The Confidential Executive Briefing is a focused 20–30 minute conversation to understand the condition—before deciding whether deeper diagnosis or another next step makes sense.
- Confidential
- No obligation
- 20–30 minutes