Senior Program Officer and General Counsel
Kelly serves as Senior Program Officer and General Counsel at the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation. In this dual role, she provides strategic leadership on legal, regulatory, and governance matters while managing a portfolio of grantee relationships. With close to twenty years of experience in philanthropy, foundation work, and nonprofit law, Kelly brings a unique blend of legal expertise and programmatic insight to her work.
Before joining the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation, Kelly held leadership roles at the Catholic Community Foundation of Minnesota, including Vice President of Development and Donor Engagement. In this role, she led the team responsible for developing new donor relationships, stewarding existing donors, and developing strategies to advance the Foundation’s mission. Her work at CCF inspired her ongoing commitment to unlocking generosity and stewarding donor intent.
Kelly earned her Juris Doctor cum laude from the University of St. Thomas School of Law and holds a Bachelor of Arts summa cum laude in Theology and English from the College of Saint Benedict. When not working, Kelly and her husband Ben keep busy with their two active boys and two lazy pups. She also enjoys reading, traveling, playing golf, and spending time with friends and family.