Kelly joined the team in 2015, bringing significant experience and success in public relations, marketing and event planning. As ARA’s Deputy Director, she manages the external and internal communication strategies, plans events great and small, juggles some of the administration functions for the organization and sometimes remembers to water the office plants.
She has championed and celebrated Alabama’s wealth of talent, cultural history, and natural beauty for more years than she cares to admit. Prior to joining ARA, she managed the communications strategies for Birmingham Artwalk, Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival (now Sidewalk Film Festival), Birmingham Arts & Music Festival and other events in Alabama. In addition to her non-profit and event experience, Kelly also developed comms strategies for a variety of clients including Barenbrug Seed Company, Simply Fashion, Curtiss Motorcycles, Village Tavern, WorkPlay and many more. You might also catch her name in the rolling credits of films like Diary of a Mad Black Woman, Two Weeks, Americano and Open Window. She is thrilled to be able to welcome and work closely with emerging documentary filmmakers each summer as Impact Producer of ARA’s Southern Exposure Film Fellowship program.
When not at work, Kelly serves as the Secretary of Highland Park Neighborhood and has been a member of the Birmingham Artwalk Board of Directors and Event Team for 20 years. She keeps busy by watching nearly every single thing on TV (even the bad stuff), and dreaming about traveling. Right before Covid hit the US, she rescued a pretty amazing kitty named Rain, who Kelly likes to believe was named after the Led Zeppelin song. So, of course, the name remains the same.