Executive Director, Career Development
Leeds School of Business, University of Colorado Boulder

Boulder, Colorado

Katie Connor is a passionate educator, innovator and connector. As the Executive Director of Career Development at the University of Colorado’s Leeds School of Business, she leads a team that supports over 3,500 undergraduates in developing professional competencies and business connections. Under her leadership, Leeds has implemented innovative programming and leveraged data to customize the student experience and improve placement outcomes. Katie pioneered the use of Salesforce.com to better understand stakeholder needs and built partnerships with academic programs to deliver career education to all students. Prior to this role, she led the Leeds Mentoring Office, connecting over 1,500 students with 1,100 peer, professional and alumni mentors. Leeds unique continuum of mentoring programs provides personalized connections and support for undergraduates from freshman through senior year.

Prior to working in higher education, Katie worked for over 15 years in engineering project management and management consulting in the Bay Area with Bechtel Corporation, Sohio Petroleum Company, and Decision Focus, Inc. As an expatriate in Hong Kong from 1992-94, she was one of the founders of Pacific Coffee Company. She has served on a number of non-profit and educational boards, including the Dairy Center for the Arts, Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2), Dawson School and Friends School.

She earned her BS in applied earth science and MS in environmental engineering from Stanford University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Katie enjoys spending time with her husband, Tim, and their three sons, traveling, enjoying great food and wine, and listening to all genres of music.