Kelly has more than 20 years’ experience in the corporate, nonprofit, government, and public relations sectors. She specializes in media relations, crisis communication, internal communication, and government and community relations.

Since founding MBPR with her father in June 2018, she’s managed the community outreach, branding and media relations efforts for the Solid Waste Disposal Authority of the City of Huntsville’s curbside recycling program, Recycling Alliance of North Alabama (RANA). She’s also managed media relations efforts for Amazon, Inc. during its efforts to obtain state and local incentives for a new regional headquarters in Nashville and managed the launch of the “Farm to Tap” campaign with the Tennessee Craft Brewers Guild.

Her day-to-day work includes consulting with clients on their communications goals and strategies, whether it’s a new project seeking community outreach and engagement, launching a campaign or assisting in a grand opening event, or working with media to tell client stories.

Prior to launching MBPR, she led the media relations effort for the award-winning English-only campaign in Nashville; managed communications for the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance; managed a team of storytellers that handled internal and external communications from news stories, newsletters, blog posts and social media channels for Tennessee State Parks and Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC); worked on communicating policy changes in both Metro and state government; and served as the spokesperson on the “Transit for Nashville” transit referendum campaign in 2018.

Kelly is a 2000 graduate of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga with a bachelor’s degree in communications. She has two children, Ella and Austin, and is married to Brian, a Nashville Firefighter. She’s a member of the Greenways for Nashville board, advisory board for Nashville Children’s Alliance and on the executive committee for the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Counselor’s Academy.

A Nashville native, she enjoys cheering for her kids at their school and sport functions, spending time on Nashville’s greenways and connecting old friends with new.