Kathy Irons Email & Phone Number

Pensacola, Fl, Us

Pensacola, Florida, United States

Downtown Pensacola Library

I agreed to operate a small coffee shop for a friend in medical crisis. I contributed to all aspects of the business, including the financial management, supply inventory and ordering, and training new staff. In my first month of employment, I increased café sales by 17%. When I departed in July 2023, we were on pace to grow 22-25% in our second year!

Career Development Center

Position Highlights* Elevated the department’s campus presence and expanded event offerings in collaboration with student programming initiatives through the Center for Student Involvement and Leadership’s Connection Point, Student Programming and Raider Entertainment, and the Jones College IGNITE professional development program* Recruited and launched the first Career Development Advisory Board, a university-wide collaborative of 21 various faculty members, Academic Advisors, and Student Affairs leaders* Implemented online appointment scheduling for career advisors using the university-wide student success platform, Navigate (EAB), which resulted in a 58% increase in scheduled career advising appointments, improved accessibility for students, and heightened visibility for campus colleagues* Seamlessly pivoted the career advising team to utilize Zoom video conferencing in March 2020 to ensure student and alumni services experienced zero service interruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic which resulted in the highest number of student interactions in a single semester to date* Assumed additional leadership responsibilities for the 2020 calendar year: collaborated with the Assistant Director of Employer Relations for departmental vision, services, and budget management

Career Development Center

* Consistently delivered the highest number of student interactions each academic year, exceeding the individual appointment goal by 49-63%* Coordinated 20-30 student event volunteers annually for the Fall Career Fair* Operated as the staff site manager for the Economics & Finance Career Fair, hosting 32 employers* Established collaboration with the Veterans and Military Family Center to train career transitioning veterans, provide interview coaching, and teach resume best practices for implementing civilian language* Served as staff advisor for MTSU’s chapter of the National Association of Black Accountants* Participated in the Dale Carnegie “Foundations for Success” training lab class at the College of Business* Recruited to become a Dale Carnegie Communications and Human Relations Seminar course instructor* Utilized MBTI and Strong Interest Inventory assessments to facilitate career planning discussions with students and alumni

Career Development Center

* Developed the Career Fair Ambassador volunteer promotional program which contributed to a 21% increase in student attendance at the 2014 Fall Career Fair* Assisted with the marketing and administration of campus-wide career fairs with the largest event student attendance exceeding 1,000 and employer participation of more than 100* Trained to utilize MBTI and Strong assessments to facilitate career planning discussions with students* Managed front office operations for 2 months while Executive Aide was on medical leave* Acted as the Recruiting Coordinator for while the professional position was vacant

Career Development Center

* Managed 7 departmental student employee schedules and front office communications for 2 months while Executive Aide was on medical leave * Coordinated a team of 4 paraprofessionals to provide 12 hours of weekly advising coverage* Facilitated select Peer Career Advisor meetings for talent elevation and process improvement discussions

Career Development Center

* Developed the Career Development Center’s first Training Manual to establish stellar service expectations and operational consistency with incoming paraprofessionals* Collaborated with the Assistant Director to produce the two-day Peer Career Advisor on-boarding seminar

Nashville Metropolitan Area

Led a $1.3 million children's apparel store and the district training destination for new managers at final location. Served in leadership roles at 6 of the district’s 12 locations throughout middle Tennessee and hosted 3 district-wide annual sales meetings, 3 regional visits, and 2 high-level executive visits. Key accomplishments: * Supported a new store opening management team as the district’s organizational lead in 2011* Led the #3 team, in a region of 119 stores, for credit card transaction conversion in 2010* After 6 months, elevated the Murfreesboro store to became the district educational and excellence destination for 2009 – 2010 * Supported the New Orleans district under new leadership in 2009, traveling on 5 occasions to train new store management teams and elevate existing talent* New store opening co-manager and training specialist for Lebanon outlet store in 2006

Nashville Metropolitan Area

Contributed to the establishment and increasing success of Nashville's largest annual one-day athletic event. The 2006 race day attendance totaled approximately 100,000 people with an economic impact of more than $15 million. Enterprise impact:* Secured $30,000 – $40,000 in operational savings each event year through sponsorship funds and in-kind partnerships with local and national businesses* Coordinated the event’s marketing outreach including distribution of promotional materials to dozens of athletic events across the country each fiscal year, utilizing printed collateral of more than 1 million pieces * Recruited, trained, and supervised seasonal support staff of 8 – 10 as the Nashville office director

Master Of Business Administration (M.B.A.)

Bachelor’S Degree, Business Education: Training And Development

Activities and Societies: Peer Career Advising, Non-traditional Student Organization