Dr. Kelly D. Drummond has been named human relations director for the city of Knoxville by Mayor Indya Kincannon. Drummond, who earned her doctorate in education from Lincoln Memorial University, will begin Jan. 4, 2021.
Dr. Drummond has been vice president of human resources and leadership development for the Boys and Girls Club of the Tennessee Valley. She served as HR director for Knox County Schools when Buzz Thomas was interim superintendent.
Thomas said she had “the advanced training and hands-on experience to build a great talent pipeline for our school district.”
At that point, Drummond had worked for the Boys and Girls Club for some 16 years. Previously, she worked with the Knoxville Police Department, the city of Knoxville Civil Service and the Knoxville-Knox County Community Action Committee.
“Employees are our greatest asset,” Drummond said. “Mayor Kincannon’s passion to do what is right is evident and I am excited to work for an administration that truly cares about the community. The opportunity to come back to serve the city is so fulfilling and I can’t wait to get started.”
Drummond will be building an HR Department from scratch. City Council created the department on June 16 at Kincannon’s request. The mayor said Drummond comes to the post with a background in HR plus an understanding of how city government works. “She has worked non-stop building on her education, serving area youth and giving back to our community. I am eager to have her on board.”
Drummond is a past board member of the Mental Health Association of Tennessee, a curriculum committee member for Leadership Knoxville, a sector co-lead for All4Knox, and she serves as a mentor for a federal workforce re-entry program.
A proud mother of two boys, she also finds time to teach leadership and management courses at several area schools, including the University of Tennessee, Tusculum University and Roane State Community College.
Drummond comes with certifications from the Society of Human Resource Management and the HR Certification Institute. She also has a master training certification from the Boys & Girls Clubs of America through the International Institute for Facilitation.
Drummond on leadership: Her Linkedin profile shows the traits she values: Flexibility and a gift for developing effective relationships; proven experience in maximizing work-flow efficiencies; ability to formulate and implement policies; and strategic planning.
Sandra Clark is editor/CEO of Knox TN Today, Inc. This story was compiled in part with information from the city of Knoxville.