In the aftermath of September 11, 2001, Americans were afraid to travel. Our founder, Kelley Johnson, a corporate communications executive in the hospitality industry at the time, experienced firsthand the impact of fear on people’s daily lives, and the subsequent toll on the economy. She started researching industry trends and the many reasons people travel, and voiced to her team the need to explore and understand those reasons – to rekindle the emotional connection to the customer.

Leveraging the insights she gathered, on the daily hotel blog, she shared diverse stories of the travelers who entered the hotel doors, the jazz lover who was attending his first concert in years, partners celebrating an anniversary, the foodie experiencing an international food festival, the family reuniting at their historic birthplace. Overtime, those stories became popular among employees, and caught the attention of the hotel general managers who requested that she tell more. Kelley began to see the impact human connection can have on business. 

KEIRUS BY KJE believes that human connection comes from sharing and embracing diverse stories and experiences with compassion. As a former in-house DEI leader, Johnson often found herself underwhelmed by the lack of in-depth and authentic partnership and relationship building practices by many organizations. With an interest in making a broader impact beyond the confines of a single organization, and after her time at a major retail giant ended, Johnson seized the opportunity to start her own firm. In 2015, with a mission to give more companies access to the resources, knowledge and support they needed to move the needle in DEI, Johnson founded KJE Consulting and Coaching. 

In 2022, KJE Consulting and Coaching evolved into KEIRUS BY KJE to create an alternative to the quantity over quality approach to DEI.

KEIRUS derives from the Greek word charis pronounced "care-us" meaning grace, goodwill and kindness. It embodies our fundamental values of humility and commitment to maximize human capabilities through authenticity, compassion and continuous learning. KEIRUS is a learning solution that uses technology, analysis and adaptive solutions to move companies from I to Us. Our belief that every voice matters allows us to adapt to our clients’ needs while remaining true to our methodologies and practices. As the DEI space continues to evolve and the bar continues to rise as the complexity of the workplace, economy, and demographics shift and change, KEIRUS BY KJE leverages our decades of experience to create solutions that merge human connection and innovation. 

We are all human. We all have hopes, fears, desires, disappointments, and dreams. No matter your story, it matters. Your story is relevant and is what connects you to others. Though we may not all share the same experiences, our connection lies in our humanity.