Dr. Kelly Conway, DNP, CNS received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Public Health Certificate at the University of San Francisco, Master’s degree in Adult Mental Health from the University of California, San Francisco, and Doctoral degree at Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions.
She joined the faculty of RMU in the DNP/FNP program in May 2016. She has taught in the DNP/FNP and PMHNPC programs and has served as an associate professor and assistant director of the nursing department since 2018. She was instrumental in design and implementation of new programs offered by the University including the Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) program and Emergency Nurse Practitioner (ENP). She completed a RMU administrative Fellowship focusing on accreditation. She co-led a successful CCNE accreditation review. She was accepted and completed a competitive year-long fellowship and is an AACN Fellow in Executive Leadership in Academic Nursing (ELAN). In September 2021, Dr. Conway was appointed as Dean, College of Nursing and most recently launched a curriculum redesign.
Professional experience as an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) focused on inpatient and outpatient adult mental health settings including case management of the serious mentally ill population, and psychiatric home health care. She has served as program director in the mental health clinic. She has extensive expertise in individual, group, and family therapy. She has worked in mental health settings, homeless programs. For over 10 years, she managed as the Facility Outreach Coordinator/Rural Health Coordinator at the VA in Palo Alto, California increasing access to care through mobile clinic outreach. Her last appointment was a detail to the National Homeless Program Office (HPO) with the Homeless Patient Aligned Care Teams (HPACT). In this capacity she assisted in policy development and support to field staff nationwide. Dr. Conway has also taught undergraduate case management. She serves on many community governing boards for housing, mental health, and medical advocacy. She is actively sought as a consultant for mental health, outreach, and homeless issues. She has extensive experience in population health and public social determinants of health. Dr. Conway’s scholarly focus is mental health, interprofessional collaboration, evidence- based practice, and increasing access to medical and mental health care for the homeless population.