A native of North Carolina, Kelly graduated with high honors and phi beta kappa from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2008 with degrees in Spanish and sociology. She was a Carolina Covenant Scholar and worked with Habitat for Humanity and the Hunger and Homelessness Outreach Project. Kelly also studied in Spain, worked with a high school Spanish class, and served as a mentor to local Latino high school students.
Field placement: Oregon Child Development Coalition
Wilsonville, Oregon
Kelly completed a statewide assessment of the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) for child care providers in Oregon. Through a series of surveys and in-depth interviews with stateadministrators, program sponsors, and family child care providers, she documented best practices and barriers to participation in the program, and suggested recommendations for increasing enrollment among family child care providers.
Policy placement: Evangelical Lutheran Church of America
Washington, D.C.
Kelly worked with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s advocacy office to create a variety of public education and outreach tools on health care reform and child nutrition for Lutheran churches across the United States. She also worked extensively in the planning and implementation of an advocacy presence at the 2009 National Lutheran Youth Gathering.