While droves of carefree, sun-worshiping co-eds flocked to beaches and exotic adventures during school breaks, Kristen Keely-Dinger, along with her compassionate contemporaries, devoted their time off to Vanderbilt University’s alternative spring break program, which offers a selfless alternative to the otherwise self-serving season. It was this program along with local volunteer organizations that exposed the then pre-med Keely-Dinger to the world of charitable action, causing her to re-direct her plans for the future toward community service.
    “It really started because of one of my professors whose brother had just died of HIV,” says the 31-year-old of the change. “Her story really inspired me to do something about it.” Keely-Dinger’s alternative spring break trip took her to New York City where she delivered meals to homebound HIV/AIDS patients. At the time, HIV was considered an epidemic affecting communities far from the luxury afforded a private university population. Facing this challenge, Keely-Dinger worked on campus to lift the stigma surrounding the disease through awareness events and educational programming, all the while completing her undergraduate degree — a major in neuroscience, and a minor in chemistry. Her work helped her realize that “there were other ways besides being a practitioner that I could have an impact on public health.”
    After earning her degree, she did what many exhausted graduates do and took some time off. This typically translates into a soul-searching romp through aimless part-time jobs, but Keely-Dinger proved to be anything but typical. Continuing her work with HIV/AIDS organizations, she joined AmeriCorps to devote a year to the National AIDS Fund before returning to work with Nashville non-profits.
    While remaining an avid volunteer, she earned her master’s degree in social work at Vanderbilt. During that time, Keely-Dinger also interned at Catholic Charities’ Bridges to Care program, which links under- and un-insured people with sliding-scale medical care.
    After completing her degree, she was hired by the organization to manage the case managers and thought she had found a permanent home. However, when Erie Chapman, founding president of The Baptist Healing Trust, expressed the need for light administrative assistance, her path took an unexpected twist. Keely-Dinger, who had only one free day left in her schedule, signed on to help with the administrative duties. With years of experience in the non-profit world, she felt the position at the Baptist Healing Trust would expose her to the philanthropic side of charity. “I thought it would help me be more well-rounded,” she says. The Trust, established in 2002 when Baptist Hospital sold to St. Thomas, provides funds for health care grants submitted to and selected by the trust.

Several months later, Chapman explained to Keely-Dinger that the Trust was receiving calls about grants. With no grant program set up, Chapman wondered if she might be interested in spearheading a new department to address these needs. Keely-Dinger was torn between the job she already loved and a new opportunity to make a difference.
“I thought long and hard about it and realized that, while I could have an impact coordinating Bridges to Care, The Baptist Healing Trust would allow me to have a broader impact,” she said of the switch. The new job wasn’t too much of a departure, as many of the same people she worked with before were funded through the Trust. Five years later, Keely-Dinger holds the title of Vice-President of Programs and Grants, where she oversees the grant administration process among other programming duties.
     Though her career has taken her out of full-time non-profit work, Keely-Dinger continues to volunteer her time and efforts to various community-service boards. One organization close to her heart is Nashville’s OASIS Center, where she worked with the Youth Innovation Board, which allows youth to meet and decide where to allocate grant money based on perceived need. “Natural leaders rose from the collaboration,” she says of her thrilling experience watching the powerful transformation that came from empowering youth-led civic action.
    Keely-Dinger remains focused on the importance of the community and urges people interested in service to consider becoming board members of organizations. “You don’t have to be wealthy or influential to be a board member,” she reveals. Diversity of experience and profession make a dynamic community. Regardless of the capacity of service, she says the most important thing is to “find something you are passionate about.” An admirable example of her own motto, Kristen Keely-Dinger has carved her niche as an invaluable member of not only the staff of The Baptist Healing Trust but of the city of Nashville.