Dr. Kathy Jordan
Kathryn Jordan is senior consultant with The Success Associates, an executive level career transition and coaching firm. She has worked in this consulting role for over 20 years while completing her own career as a senior leader in higher education. She is recognized for her collaborative, positive leadership style and as a visionary team developer and career strategist.
She began her consulting career after earning her doctorate in 1994 and assuming the Management Consulting role for the State of Virginia with Drake Beam Morin, one of the country’s leading providers of human resource consulting services to corporations.
Her reputation for understanding the emerging expectations for higher education administrators, faculty, and students began when she served as the Director of Experiential Learning and Career Services at Radford University for over 17 years. Her interest in the engagement of students in all forms of experiential education preparing for career success in the 21st century economy led most recently to her management responsibility for Virginia Tech University’s Cooperative Education and Internship Program, one of the oldest cooperative education programs in the country.
As a coach who urges her clients to stay intellectually engaged with their work, Kathryn took a two-year break from her service in higher education to focus her work and write a book, VOICES; Words From Wise Women. This book made “Best Seller” in the Leadership and Business category in March of 2012 with Amazon.com.
The book was written to assist all women in the development of leadership tools for both work and life. In her consulting practice, she assists executives in their search for a promotion and greater success in their administrative or business roles. She has assisted six senior women to find presidencies in higher education. Her work also includes working with hundreds of individuals, both men and women, who are seeking a change in their careers.
Today, she is a Nationally Certified Career Counselor (NCCC) and holds memberships in such professional organizations as the American Counseling Association and the National Society of Experiential Education. She has been active in the business world as a member of the Board of Directors of the Radford Chamber of Commerce, a member of the Society of Human Resource Managers, and for seven years as President of Main of Main Street Radford, an economic development organization. As a faculty member in Radford’s Graduate College, she has taught students about the career counseling profession, authored numerous articles and made presentations for national organizations.
Dr. Jordan also works with corporations to solve human resource issues related to talent and team development, change management, succession planning, and pre-retirement workshops. Her clients have included major Fortune 100 companies like General Electric, Anthem Blue Cross, Capital One, and Virginia State Agencies as well as smaller entrepreneurial firms in the non-profit, arts and entertainment, and business arenas.
With a Bachelor’s degree from the College of William and Mary in Sociology, a Master’s degree in Counseling and a minor in Business from Radford University, and a Doctorate in Education and Counseling with a cognate in Industrial Organizational Psychology from Virginia Tech, Dr. Jordan has worked at the College of William and Mary, Radford University and Virginia Tech prior to going into consulting. Dr. Jordan resides in Radford, Virginia with her husband who is a retired college professor. She has three grown daughters.
Dr. Connie Gores
Dr. Connie Gores’ leadership experience centers around a strong belief in the power of education to change lives and make a difference. In her extensive career she has served a variety of institutions – public and private – including six years as the President of Southwest Minnesota State University, where she was the first woman president. Previous roles include Interim President at Winona State University; Vice President at Winona State University; Vice President at Randolph-Macon Woman’s College (now Randolph College); Dean at Cornish College of the Arts; and a directorship at Willamette University College of Law.
Dr. Gores is a graduate of the Institute for Educational Management (IEM) at Harvard University. She completed the American Academic Leadership Institute (AALI) Executive Leadership Program as well as the Minnesota Partnership for Executive Leadership Program, where she serves as Mentor and Sponsor.
Recent highlights from her professional leadership and involvement include:
- Division II National Presidents Council of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and service on the NCAA Strategic Planning Committee
- Board of Directors of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC)
- Appointed by the Governor of Minnesota to the Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Tech Transfer Board
- Executive Committee of the Leadership Council of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities
- Co-authored the article, How Minnesota Has Shattered the Glass Ceiling
- Chair of the Women’s Network Executive Council (WNEC), a national committee of the American Council on Education (ACE), and current Emerita Board member
- Board of the Minnesota Campus Compact and member of the Executive Committee, as well as Chair of the Governance Committee
- Emerita Board member and former Chair of the Virginia Network, as well as former Chair of the Senior Leadership Seminar
- Founding member of Jared P. Stene Student Leadership Scholarship Board State of Minnesota
- Higher Learning Commission (HLC) Accreditation Peer Review Corps
Dr. Gores was the sole presenter from the United States at the Dialogue on Innovative Higher Education Strategies (DIES) Conference in Bonn, Germany, where she spoke on gender equality in leadership and advancing women leaders in higher education.
Drawing on her experience as a leader in crisis management, Dr. Gores authored a chapter entitled, Courage, Compassion, Communication, in the book Managing the Unthinkable: Crisis Preparation and Response for Campus Leaders. She also co-authored a case study on campus leadership with the Harvard University Kennedy School and the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and was a featured presenter at the inaugural institute on Crisis Leadership in Higher Education at Harvard University.
In addition, she has authored case studies and served as guest lecturer for graduate classes in Administration and Leadership in Higher Education at the University of Minnesota. She has also served as guest lecturer at Virginia Tech, Colorado State University, and George Washington University.
She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Washington; her master’s degree from Colorado State University; and her bachelor’s degree from North Dakota State University.
Dr. Connie Gores resides in the Raleigh-Durham Triangle area of North Carolina, where she is delighted to be closer to her two adult daughters and three darling grandchildren.
WA Franke College of Forestry and Conservation at the University of Montana
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