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Meet Kelly

Kelly Capra, PhD, is a seasoned HR Leader and Executive and Leadership Coach with over 25 years of expertise in identifying and solving complex organizational challenges across talent acquisition, employee development, engagement, culture building, and change management. Known for providing actionable insights that drive growth and resilience, Kelly blends her strategic HR expertise with a tailored coaching approach to empower organizations and their leaders. She is passionate about helping individuals unlock their potential, guiding leaders to grow and thrive in their roles, and fostering environments where everyone can become their best selves, contributing to both individual and organizational success.
An Experienced Leader

Kelly Capra, PhD, is a seasoned HR Leader and Advisor, with over 25 years of expertise, known for identifying and solving complex organizational challenges. As a fractional CHRO, she partners closely with CEOs and executive teams to build scalable HR infrastructures that align people strategies with business goals, driving sustainable growth and resilience. Kelly’s consulting work spans all HR disciplines, including talent acquisition, employee engagement and development, culture building, and change management—areas critical to creating high-performing, adaptable organizations.

Her experience as a top HR executive in both public and private sectors has equipped her with the strategic and hands-on insights needed to guide organizations and leadership teams through periods of rapid expansion, restructuring, and transformation. Whether working with life sciences companies or technology firms, Kelly’s approach enables organizations to meet the demands of growth and navigate the evolving challenges of today’s business landscape.

Executive, Leadership, and Team Coaching

Kelly also brings her deep expertise to her coaching practice, where she empowers leaders—and their teams—to achieve beyond what they believed possible. Known for her collaborative and individualized approach, Kelly builds trusting partnerships with clients, whether working one-on-one or with groups. She helps them overcome obstacles, embrace new challenges, and grow into their full potential. Passionate about guiding leaders through transformation, Kelly focuses on areas such as leadership development, high-potential coaching, new leader transitions, and fostering cohesive, high-performing teams.

Through a tailored coaching approach, Kelly combines her strategic HR insights with practical tools to support both personal and collective growth. Her coaching philosophy centers on unlocking potential, enabling leaders and teams to thrive and make meaningful contributions to their organizations.

Qualifications

Kelly holds a PhD in Organizational Development & Change and a Master’s in Human Development, both from Fielding Graduate University, as well as a Master’s in Management from Lesley University and a Bachelor of Science in Social Science from Michigan State University. She also holds a Graduate Certificate in Executive Coaching from William James College and is an International Coaching Federation (ICF) Credentialed Coach.

On the Personal Side:

Kelly has four adult children—two biological and two stepchildren—who mean the world to her. She enjoys running year-round in her scenic seaside town north of Boston, where she recently built her home. Summers are spent boating and at the beach, while winters bring her to the ski slopes on the east coast and out west. Her two dogs, a border terrier and a wheaten terrier, are her companions for beach walks. Kelly’s life partner, John, passed away unexpectedly in May 2020; his kindness and humble nature are cherished and remembered every day. Inspired by those around her, Kelly believes in always challenging oneself and embracing new experiences at any age, reflecting her commitment to personal growth and helping others unlock their potential to become the best versions of themselves.

My Commitment To You

As your coach, I am dedicated to helping you achieve your goals and realize your full potential. I provide a safe, supportive, and empowering space where you can freely explore your ideas, overcome challenges, and pursue your aspirations with confidence.

My Commitment To You

As your coach, I am dedicated to helping you achieve your goals and realize your full potential. I provide a safe, supportive, and empowering space where you can freely explore your ideas, overcome challenges, and pursue your aspirations with confidence.

Success Stories

I had the privilege of working with Kelly as my leadership coach when my organization offered me the chance to grow my leadership impact. One of the most valuable parts of our work together was the 360-degree feedback process. Kelly helped make sense of the feedback and used it to guide my development.

Through our partnership, I was able to improve my communication skills and garner more meaningful influence among internal stakeholders and external vendors. Her very easy going, conversational and insightful approach to coaching helped me build confidence and realize my potential to drive positive change within my organization.

I highly recommend Kelly to anyone looking to grow as a leader, expand their influence, or achieve meaningful change.

Director, USP Manufacturing and Process Dev., Polynoma, LLC

As the CEO at Joyn Bio, I had the privilege of working with Kelly for over 3 years as she helped build the Joyn team as our Head of HR. She helped develop and run all aspects of our HR services, and she was especially helpful in coaching our managers and senior team. She played a key role in recruiting and developing our team, and we definitely benefited from her broad scope of HR expertise and coaching.

CEO, Joyn Bio

Kelly provided CHRO level support for MBX. Her experience helping biotech companies scale from startup to public company stage is invaluable.

She understands the key issues that can hinder an organization’s effectiveness and offers actionable guidance. I enjoyed collaborating with Kelly on building MBX.

CEO, MBX Biosciences

I have known Kelly for about three years. She was our HR consultant at Joyn Bio where I have worked as a Plant Science Department Head. Being HR in a startup is not an easy job as one needs to build an HR strategy and system from scratch. Kelly was a fantastic support for my exponentially growing team and myself as a leader. She was my source when I needed guidance on how to handle difficult employees and resolve conflicts. Kelly was instrumental in offering multiple resources for the managers and employees through organizing workshops and inviting external facilitators. Although Kelly was a consultant and had a limited number of hours per week dedicated to Joyn Bio, it never felt that way as she was always available for our questions and requests for help. It was a great experience for me to work with Kelly.

Head of Plant Science, Joyn Bio

I am really glad to have had an opportunity to participate in a 6- month productive coaching program under Kelly. Kelly allowed me to request 360 feedback from my direct reports, peers, manager, and mentors and helped me reflect and constructively work on it. She is very focused, direct, and thorough and I have made significant improvements in leadership skills under her coaching. I would wholeheartedly recommend Kelly for coaching for leaders willing to see a step change in their leadership abilities.

VP, R&D, Biotech

We had the pleasure of working with Kelly for 3 years as we grew the company from about 18 to 85 employees. Kelly worked with us seamlessly as a business partner to establish the full framework of a corporate people management system. Her enthusiasm and engagement were essential to help us attract and recruit talent in a highly competitive biotech market and then retain staff during the challenges of the COVID pandemic.

CSO, Biotech

I’ve had the opportunity to work with Kelly at a couple growing life science companies and found her to be a great partner. She understands the startup environment and has been an invaluable resource for building the HR strategy and structuring HR as well as helping to create an engaging culture. She’s skilled at coaching and mentoring leaders and is always willing to listen to all employees. She herself is a leader of high integrity and team members trust her.

CFO, Life Science

Kelly partnered with us during a time of high growth but also great uncertainty due to COVID-19. Though an outside consultant, she became one of the team, a trusted coach and advisor through the changes we experienced, and a people-centric collaborator. With Kelly’s help, we were able to keep our staff safe, productive, and engaged through our transition to remote work and have come through the challenge in a position of strength.

CTO and Co-Founder, Medical Devices

I had the pleasure of working with Kelly in my previous role, and her coaching was instrumental to my professional development in my management role. Together we set measurable goals, and her consistent and timely feedback helped me to achieve necessary milestones that led to future promotion. She has my highest recommendation as a leadership coach!

Scientific Manager, Biotech

How Do I Know if a Coach is Right for Me?

Coaching and consulting are highly personal processes that rely on a strong, trusting connection between client and coach/consultant. To ensure a good fit, Kelly offers a complimentary 25-minute consultation for prospective clients. This session is an opportunity to discuss the outcomes you desire, explore how her insights can support your goals, and determine if her approach aligns with your vision for growth.

Schedule a Free 1:1