Kelly joined COCA (Center of Creative Arts) more than 23 years ago and has been their Executive Director since 2010. It served her well that she did her Master’s Thesis on Founder Syndrome as she took over the helm from founder Stephanie Riven. She was able to think about how she differed as a leader and what the organization would need to solidify its roots and be here for future generations. No easy task!
Kelly was in the midst of a $45 million dollar capital campaign, Create Our Future, when the pandemic struck last spring. Nevertheless, they were able to complete the campaign raising $49 million for an expanded facility and an endowment. In April, they will begin a 4-5 month process of creating a Master Plan for COCA. With a lens on equity and arts at the core, they will decide future direction for the organization and where to invest resources to build that future.
Kelly considers herself a student of leadership styles. She finds that women leaders tend to value connectedness, empathy and communication. For women, it’s not all about performance and mechanics of operations.
Kelly is married to Mitch and a parent to two teenagers. They love the outdoors, biking, running and spending time with their two dogs at their lake cabin property.
Kelly’s been a member of Forum since 2010. At the core, Forum is about the women … just a great group of women. She enjoys sitting down at a lunch next to someone she doesn’t know and invariably finds many connections to people and interests.
A recommendation:
For a good gin and tonic, a must have: Fever Tree Tonic. (who knew?)