Kelly Gilmore Dignan is the primary author of the Pursue U blog. She is an experienced entrepreneur, teacher, speaker, manager, sales person and coach.
Kelly has an honors degree from the University of Michigan in Marketing, Psychology and Communication.
Currently, she is pursuing a Masters in Divinity with a concentration in Social Justice and Peace from Iliff School of Theology.
Early in her career, she worked for Procter & Gamble, Computer Associates and General Electric. In 1992, Kelly co-founded CONNECT: The Knowledge Network, an IT consulting and recruiting company. CONNECT was named Small Business of the Year in 2000 by the South Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce. It was a Top 100 Colorado Women-Owned Business for ten consecutive years and a Top 250 Colorado Privately-Held Business for eight consecutive years (ColoradoBiz). Kelly was named one of Denver's 40 under 40 Business Leaders in 1999 by The Denver Business Journal.
With CONNECT and GE, she gained her 14 years experience connecting people with jobs - helping consultants with career planning and businesses with hiring. She created and managed brand and marketing strategies that differentiated CONNECT from hundreds of competitors. Kelly has developed and taught classes nation-wide on team and leadership development, corporate culture, personal mastery, hiring and retention, and career planning.
While at CONNECT she faced the problem every woman with children faces - how to balance work with family life. She and her partner created an on-site daycare so they and their employees could bring kids to work.
In 2004, she sold her part of CONNECT and founded Pursue U. Her own life story inspired her to provide what she never got as a young woman - an opportunity to know herself, love herself, address the stuff that got in her way, and make decisions by listening to herself versus the voices all around her. Her life experience has inspired her to encourage women to step forward with the gift of their leadership.
Her goal for the blog is to communicate with women as they ponder their passion, develop their vision, and join men to lead this world to a better place.
She also provides coaching where she develops a partnership with her clients designed to help them produce fulfilling results in their personal and professional lives. While she has many frameworks and tools to share, the core of the approach is eliciting solutions and strategies from the clients – tapping into the strengths, resources, wisdom and creativity they have already. This right brain intuitive process compliments her left-brain business background and focus on results.
Certifications
• TLC - The Leadership Circle 360° Feedback and Culture Survey Instruments
• The Highlands Abilities Assessment
• Graduate, Institute for Life Coach Training
• FAST facilitation
• Interaction Associates - Facilitative Leadership
Organizations
•Women’s Vision Foundation
- Programs Committee
- Instructor and Coach
- Volunteer of the Year, 2008
•Chair, Littleton Public Schools Business and Marketing Advisory Committee
Client Comments
“Through guidance (and not necessarily advice) Kelly consistently provided tools that empowered me to become a better and more confident manager. In one particular instance, she helped me recognize a lack of transparency in communication as the root cause of a difficult work situation - which was the first step towards a very successful resolution and a happier, more productive work environment.” Terri L. Reaka, Sr. Manager, Individual Markets Reinsurance, Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Co.
“My coaching sessions with Kelly came at a key point in my career. Our company was going through a hostile takeover. Through my conversations with Kelly we brought the focus back to my strengths as a manager. This enabled me to better lead my team through the turmoil caused when two large companies merge. Our coaching sessions also gave me the confidence to sell my qualities to the new management team. I attribute my success in a large part to the discussions Kelly and I had during this time.” Donna Peery, SBA Bid Manager. Staples
Contact her at
kelly@PursueU.com
303-257-5449
$17.50
To order, email 
Welcome to Pursue U! I started this blog to help young women (ages 18-30) discover who they are, where they want to go and how they can get there. Much of the content here can be useful for that demographic AND people of all ages. So I hope you enjoy it and find it helpful, no matter how old you are. 
