Hello!

My name is Kelly Hilst, and as the school counselor, I work alongside students and families to help you meet your goals. I meet with individual students and small groups to address friendship skills, executive functioning/organization skills, emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and grief and loss. I may also visit classrooms to deliver social-emotional lessons and discuss how our amazing brains work. This year, I will be working mostly with our Kindergarten and First Grade students and families, but dedicated to supporting all students.

I am passionate about solution-focused, strengths-based counseling and I love incorporating mindfulness activities into the school day. 

I grew up in Littleton and was an LPS student from Kindergarten through graduation, so I'm grateful to continue my professional journey in such a wonderful district. I earned my Bachelor's degree in English Literature from the University of Colorado Boulder and my Master's in Counseling from the University of Colorado Denver. I received my clinical training at the CU Denver Student & Community Counseling Center, with an emphasis on social justice and culturally responsive counseling. In addition to my School Counselor licensure, I am a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC). 

Prior to entering the mental health field, I worked in the nonprofit sector in Seattle, WA as a grant writer and communications specialist for several arts organizations, including the internationally-renowned radio station KEXP. I also served on the boards of the Seattle Comix and Arts Festival and the Seattle Center for Book Arts. 

In my free time, I love to have fun with my husband, my son, my daughter, and our dog, Howie.