missy dray
human resource manager

Missy Dray is a Lawrence, Kansas native who turned tail and ran as fast as humanly possible the second the emcee said, “Congratulations graduates” to the Lawrence High School class of 1998. She received a Bachelor of Science in Performing Arts Management from Oklahoma City University and had a 20-year career as a performer, choreographer, teacher, and competition adjudicator spanning the United States. After extensive work with professional companies, artists on the Nashville music scene, and teaching in secondary education, including Vanderbilt University, she decided she had still not explored the depth of her capacity and was ready for a change.

She returned to Lawrence (finding it a more tolerable place to exist than she did at the age of 18) and earned a Master of Business Administration with a Concentration in Leadership and Organizational Change from Baker University. Desiring to continue utilizing the creativity and artistic inclination that had always supported her, she assumed opportunities in marketing would be a worthy road to travel. Little did she know that the first position she would be selected for (Marketing Manager at a Civil Engineering design firm) would have a little side gift that would become the main focus of her ambition…Human Resources.

As if by plan, decades in the world of performing arts had honed her skills for conflict resolution, effectively communicating abstract concepts, measuring and improving performance, providing effective and motivating feedback, and acting as an advocate for the people who make a company prosper. Ice the cake with the ability to turn a computer on and off, and marketing became the garnish rather than the main dish. She tested and received a SHRM-CP (Society for Human Resources Management Certified Professional) and served on the board of the Jayhawk Chapter of SHRM in Lawrence in multiple capacities, including as President, VP of Communications, VP of Finance, Website Administrator, and probably a couple of others that she has since lost track of.

Missy joined Prism Real Estate Services in September of 2022 and has been instrumental in helping Prism clarify and establish its identity as not only a premier property management company but also as a magnetic work community continually growing and embodying ideals like integrity and authenticity. Most recently, she earned the SHRM Workplace Investigations Certification and plans to probably go broke in the pursuit of additional educational endeavours in the future.

When not spending her time trying to help everyone play nice together in the sandbox, she enjoys building LEGO flowers that look beautiful even if “watering the flowers” never makes it to the top of your to-do list, crocheting emotional support lamas for her co-workers, and playing video games that allow her to commit digital destruction thus reducing the temptation for her to inflict such chaos in the real world.