Kelly Bates Principal of Bates Consulting, is a leading consultant in diversity and organizational development. For-profit and non-profit organizations alike seek her expertise in planning, management, and training with emphasis on leadership, diversity, and anti-discrimination programs.

Ms. Bates draws upon more than 10 years of professional experience as an advocate of respect, appreciation and equality in the workplace. She has held key positions in organizations concerned with personal and organizational achievement:

• Executive Director of the Women's State-Wide Legislative Network(Massachusetts), promoting and passing landmark legislation to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace.
• Executive Director of the Healthworks Foundation, providing grants and volunteers to non-profit organizations serving women and children.
• Attorney/Legislative Advocate for Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, lobbying for passage of legislation and state budget funding for human services.
• Vice-Chair of the Battered Women's Advocacy Project, Boston University School of Law, training 200 law students in abuse prevention law and multi-cultural issues.

Ms. Bates serves as a volunteer to community organizations and as an adjunct professor at various universities. At Northeastern University School of Law and Tufts University, she has taught courses on social welfare policy and on diversity and the law. She has served on the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Human Services Coalition, and on the Advisory Boards of "Women In" and the GIRLS Project. She is the recipient of numerous awards and scholarships.

Ms. Bates graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from the State University of New York at Albany. For most of her undergraduate career, she served as Chair of the People of Color Caucus, organizing events and training to promote and build public understanding of diversity. She earned her law degree from Boston University School of Law, where she attended on a full scholarship from the Martin Luther King, Jr. Fellowship. Ms. Bates served as "Note Editor" of the Public Interest Law Journal, and received the Faculty Award for Excellence in Community Service.

Ms. Bates is the co-author of Your Guide to Youth Board Involvement and the Law, published by Youth on Board. Her article, Diversity in the Workplace Will Attract Women, was featured in India New England News.

Ms. Bates is a member of the Massachusetts Bar and recipient of the Eureka-Boston Fellowship for Non-Profit Leaders.

Ms. Bates, a biracial woman of African-American and Irish/English heritage was raised in New York City. She currently resides in a diverse neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts.

Associates

Bates Consulting is a diverse group of experts with backgrounds in business, psychology, law, human resources, social services and management. We work with clients to assure that our associates' skills and experience match their strategic interests. We assemble dynamic teams of individuals whose priority is making a positive contribution to the goals and objectives of the people and organizations we serve.