With over 23 years of broad-based operations management experience, including 17-plus years in senior leadership positions, Kelly has worked across a range of highly visible public, private and nonprofit organizations. In January 2016, Mayor Michael B. Hancock appointed Kelly to serve as the Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office of the National Western Center (NWOC).
Kelly manages the general oversight, planning, strategic coordination, financing and implementation of the National Western Center, a dynamic 250-acre global destination for agricultural heritage and innovation at the historic home of the National Western Stock Show. Prior to his new role, Kelly served as Executive Director of the North Denver Cornerstone Collaborative (NDCC) from 2013-16.
Kelly graduated from Arizona State University with a degree in general business and a Masters in Public Administration. He also holds a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Denver. Kelly is a 3rd generation Coloradoan, growing up in Northwest Jefferson County and currently resides in Unincorporated Arapahoe County with his wife and their two children.
What are you most excited about in your new role?
As a third generation Coloradoan, I’m humbled to be part of a team that will not only secure the National Western Stock Show for future generations, but also establish a unique global agribusiness campus that will convene public and private interests to help solve some of our most pressing global food system challenges. [It] is truly a once in a life-time opportunity.
What is your first priority?
Having spent the better part of my professional life working on large, complicated projects, our first efforts are to build out the planning and program implementation teams, which will set in motion the full range of program control processes and systems we’ll need to have in place to effectively manage an effort of this scale. Additionally, we are in the process of acquiring land that will allow us to build toward the master plan vision.
What would you like people to know about the NWC project (particularly that you think is not well known)?
As part of creating a year-round campus, there has been a great deal of interest among many of the agricultural associations in having a physical presence on or near the NWC campus. The team has sent an initial informational letter out to over 150 ag associations, many of which are located in Colorado. Bringing many of the nation’s agricultural associations to the site creates added synergies around innovative collaborations. Over the course of our planning efforts we’ll continue to meet with these associations to identify shared interests and opportunities.
