Doctoral Capstone Defense
Building AI Organizational Readiness for Digital Transformation
A case study in adaptive leadership, system coherence, and the convergence of human-centered change management with technological integration.
Presented by
Ruiz Clark
Institution
Harvard Graduate School of Education
Defense Date
April 17, 2026
The Broader Challenge
School districts are navigating real financial constraints while facing growing pressure to integrate AI into their systems. This creates a fundamental tension: less capacity, but greater expectations.
Turbulent Crosswinds
Districts face political shifts, economic funding cliffs, and rapid technological disruption simultaneously.
Ultimate Aim
Achieving meaningful digital transformation in the era of generative AI requires more than surface-level integration.
Core Argument
Digital transformation relies on AI organizational readiness, system coherence, and organizational ambidexterity.
Digital transformation in the age of AI is predicated on the collective aptitude of leaders within a given context to foster system-level coherence, thereby promoting district-wide AI literacy for all learners.
Project Overview
This strategic project focused on providing AI capacity building to the executive cabinet of a large school district in California, serving over 70,000 students.
The Context
Digital Promise, an educational nonprofit established to end the digital divide in US public schools, launched its first fee-for-service project through a newly created division. By partnering with district executive-level leaders, Digital Promise delivered a full-day workshop, guiding participants through the process of establishing a district-wide vision for AI literacy as well as a communication plan.
Twenty staff members were engaged in the design and implementation of the project. The team had just 36 production days to deliver two separate components, requiring rapid execution and adaptive leadership throughout.
Organizational Shift
Implemented amid restructuring, requiring cross-functional collaboration on a new team.
First Milestone
Launched the first high-profile fee-for-service project after restructuring.
Rapid Execution
Led 20 teammates to execute two program components in 36 full production days.
Key Concepts
Understanding the foundational concepts that underpin this work.
AI Literacy
An individual learner's mastery over intelligent technologies, including the knowledge and skills to critically apply AI tools safely and effectively.
AI Organizational Readiness
The collective aptitude of a system to effectively integrate emerging technologies across workstreams.
Digital Transformation
The convergence of human-centered change management orchestrated strategically to unlock the fullest potential of technological integration across a system.
Change Management
A strategic process used to move an organization from its existing state to a desired state by addressing complex, human-centered challenges.
System Coherence
The strategic alignment of people, task, informal organization, and formal arrangement in order to achieve desired outputs.
Organizational Ambidexterity
The ability of an organization to simultaneously leverage existing assets (exploitation) while looking outwardly to untapped potential (exploration).
Explore the Full Case Study
Discover how adaptive leadership, system coherence, and organizational ambidexterity converge to enable meaningful digital transformation.