Kelly Lopez Hillard is the research development coordinator at the Humphrey School. In this role, she collaborates with the School's faculty and research staff to obtain external funding to support their research. She also is responsible for grant management, assisting with reporting requirements and other logistical tasks.

Kelly has more than 20 years of experience in research development coordination and grants administration, including the procurement and management of millions of dollars in grant funds for universities, and for education and research programs in nonprofit, public, and private institutions in South Korea and in three states (Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Alabama).

For the past four years, Kelly has been the grants manager at the Science Museum of Minnesota in St. Paul, where she developed and submitted grant proposals that secured more than $25 million in federal and state funding.

Previously, Kelly held grants management and administration positions at the University of Alabama-Birmingham’s Department of Biomedical Engineering (2015-2019), the University of Minnesota’s Medical School (2012-2015), and Marquette University's College of Nursing (2007-2010).

Kelly earned her BS in social work from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.