Professional Background

Kelly has over 10 years of experience in higher education and the K-12 sector.  As the Executive Director for the Office of Career & Professional Development at the University of Redlands, Kelly oversees the integration of career education across campus, with the goal of creating an ecosystem for career development at the University.  Kelly comes to the University of Redlands from the University of Utah, where she served as associate director for counseling services and operations in the Career and Professional Development Center.  In this role, Kelly supervised a team of 10 career coaches, overseeing the hiring, onboarding, and training of the career coaching team.  Kelly also set the overall strategy for outreach to academic departments and senior/administration to build institutional support.  Previously at the University of Utah, Kelly served as the Assistant Director for Programming and prior to that she served as a career counselor. 

Prior to getting her start in Student Affairs, Kelly gained experience as an Educator in the MD Public School System, as well as a researcher at an elite Pediatric Research Institute in MD. 

Areas of Expertise

Staff development, leadership training, career center transformation, change management, strategic planning, strengths based theory, management training and coaching, career education, teaching, resume writing, job search strategies, networking, mentorship, salary negotiation, and event planning.

Courses Taught

University of Utah

HUM 3960 Career Compass
HUM 3970 Career Mentors & Me 

Boards and Committees

Board Member, Director of Education & Professional Development, Mountain Pacific Association of Colleges & Employers (2018-current)

New Professionals Pre-Conference Institute Chair, NASPA Western Regional Conference 2019

Journal Reviewer, NASPA Journal about Women in Higher Education (2016-present)

Conference Committee Chair, Mountain Pacific Association of Colleges & Employers (Chaired 7 different areas of the conference committee)  (2012-2018)

Board Member, East Stroudsburg Alumni Association (2013-2018)

Board Member, Region V Knowledge Community Co-Coordinator, NASPA (2014-2018)

Professional and Regional Affiliations

Mountain Pacific Association of Colleges and Employers (MPACE)

National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE)

National Association of Student Affairs Professionals (NASPA)

Presentations at Professional Conferences

Dries, K. & Harris, C. (2019, March).  Viewpoint: Generations.  NACE Webinar Series. 

Dries, K. & Stansbury, C. (2019, March).  The power of the introvert in Student Affairs.  NASPA Annual Conference.  Los Angeles, CA.

Dries, K. & Butler, E. (2018, December).  Onboarding Best Practices.  MPACE Annual Conference.  Anaheim, CA.

Dries, K., Grimmit, B., Zavala, E., Hammond, A., & Flint, K. (2018, December). Change in Career Services: Becoming like a Business.  MPACE Annual Conference.  Anaheim, CA.

Dries, K. & Powell, K.  (2018, August).  The Faculty Champions Network.  The Career Leadership Collective. 

Dries, K., Santiago, E., Guerrero, B., & Hanson, A. (2018, June). Managing Multiple Roles within Career Services as a Mid-Manager. NACE Annual Conference. New Orleans, LA.

Dries, K. & Butler, E. (2017, December). Hiring & Onboarding Best Practices in Higher Education. MPACE Conference. Seattle, WA.

Dries, K., & Inselman, K. (2017, August). Disrupting our ideas of gender norms: Inclusive impacts for career services and recruiting. InternBridge Online Conference.

Dries, K. & Olsen, T. (2017, May). Up, Down, Sideways: The Unique Mid-Manager Role in Career Services. The Career Leadership Collective.

Dries, K., Bloomquist, E., & McCoy Marley, E. (2016, December). Strengthening partnerships with academic colleagues on campus. MPACE Conference. Denver, CO.

Dries, K. (2016, November). The F Word: Reclaiming feminism | Student Affairs SA Speaks. NASPA Western Regional Conference. Seattle, WA.

Dries, K. (2016, September). How and why I lean in as a woman leader. Keynote Speaker: Women’s Wednesday Speaker Series. Salt Lake City, UT.

Dries, K. & Adrian, S. (2015, May). Coordinated Career & Academic Planning. Utah Academic Advisors Consortium. Salt Lake City, UT.