Karlie Burris joins Northern Arizona University in 2012 for her first season as a women's basketball assistant coach. A 2009 graduate of the University of Portland, Burris was a West Coast Conference (WCC) honorable mention selection and four year letter winner for the Pilots. For her work in the classroom, Burris was also recognized on the WCC All-Academic team.

Burris spent the last two years at Seattle University under former Arizona head coach Joan Bonvicini, serving as a video coordinator and graduate assistant for the Redhawks while earning a master's in sport administration and leadership. At Seattle, Burris was responsible for editing film and coordinating exchanges and assisting with team travel and functions. She designed and developed the team's E-newsletter and was instrumental in promoting the team's auction, post-season games, and banquet.

She also served as a tutor and mentor for Seattle University study hall for student-athletes, coordinating with academic advisors to develop academic support plans. She facilitated one-on-one and group study sessions with men's basketball and women's volleyball student-athletes and monitored study hall hours across all sports.

Burris also has previous experience as an assistant coach for girl's basketball at Rex Putnam High School, where she created practice plans and developed game strategy. She also worked for one year as the director of recruitment for Absolutely Affordable Staffing, serving as the lead recruiter in head hunting business executives in multiple industries.

After earning her bachelor's degree in sociology and history from Portland in 2009, Burris completed her master's in sport administration and leadership from Seattle University in spring 2012.