CWU hires new Associate Vice President of Human Resources

Central Washington University announced this week that we have hired Dr. Kelly Flores as our new Associate Vice President of Human Resources.

Flores emerged from a competitive national search over the past year, and she will begin her new position October 1. She will take over for longtime Associate Vice President of Human Resources Staci Sleigh-Layman, who will retire at the end of the year.

“I am beyond excited to partner with the Wildcat team,” said Flores, who most recently worked as Chief People and Culture Officer for Habitat for Humanity Seattle—King and Kittitas Counties. “We are a diverse community of thinkers, dreamers, and doers, and I am looking forward to rolling up our sleeves to solve tough challenges together in service of our mission and values.”

Over the last five years, Flores has also partnered with talented leaders and growing teams in the people, culture, and human resources spaces for Treehouse for Kids, Scatter What Matters, and Sabey Corporation, all in the Seattle area.

Flores also spent 13 years in higher education leadership with City University of Seattle, where she served as a dean, professor and director of training, curriculum and faculty development. In her role as dean and professor with the School of Applied Leadership, Flores helped create a learning environment that resulted in consistently high scores in student satisfaction surveys, faculty engagement feedback, and student retention rates.

She hopes to deliver similar results for CWU’s evolving culture of inclusion and belonging.

“Together, we will be intentional and strategic about aligning our people and cultural initiatives with Central’s mission and values,” she said.

CWU President Jim Wohlpart believes Flores possesses the ideal skillset and personality to lead the university’s re-envisioned approach to employee relations and engagement.

“Dr. Flores is a people-first, values-driven leader who will help CWU recruit and retain the faculty and staff we need to deliver the best possible experience for our students,” Wohlpart said. “She understands where we are heading as an institution, and we look forward to welcoming her to our executive leadership team.”

Senior Vice President of Financial and Administration Joel Klucking, who oversees the Human Resources department, agreed that Flores has the potential to become a transformative leader at the university.

“Dr. Flores has the experience and expertise that will help us build the kind of organization we are seeking to become,” he said. “She has a proven track record of bringing people together and implementing effective, values-based programming, and we are confident that she will be able to deliver similar results for CWU.”

Flores earned her bachelor’s degree in interpersonal and organizational communications from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and went on to earn a master’s in education, adult education, and distance learning from the University of Phoenix. She then pursued a Doctor of Education in educational leadership from the University of Phoenix before becoming an Executive Leadership Academy fellow at the University of California, Berkeley.