Kelly aims to expand capacity and accelerate the on-the-ground impact of the Rewilding Institute. She entered the sphere of continental conservation and rewilding in 1996, cofounding Southwest Wildlands (then Grand Canyon Wildlands Council) with ecologist Dr. Larry Stevens and late wildlands champion Kim Crumbo. She has contributed to three Arizona national monument designations, Colorado River protection, riparian and springs restorations, and native fishes and Mexican gray wolf recovery. Kelly received a B.A. in Geology/Art History at UC Santa Barbara and a M.S. in Structural Geology from Northern Arizona University, with post-grad conservation biology coursework. She served on the board and staff of Wild Arizona (Arizona Wilderness Coalition) and previously worked for Wildlands Network and as watershed coordinator for Friends of the Rio de Flag. Kelly has published numerous scientific and popular articles and USGS maps, and produced three documentary films. She lives on the toes of the Mogollon Rim, near the red rock canyons of Sedona, Arizona.