Kelly has spent her entire career, since 2005, directly involved in the design, regulation, and implementation of great places, both old and new. She has a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Miami, and has worked for several of architects and town planners who were founders of, and are integrally embedded into, the tradition of New Urbanism and traditional placemaking. She currently works at Moser Design Group, with a focus on designing locally calibrated and contextually sensitive architecture and infill projects throughout the country.

Her career began in architecture and town planning at Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company where she worked on many charrettes and planning initiatives, including post-Katrina New Orleans rebuilding, Learning Cottages, and form-based code calibrations, and where she co-authored The Light Imprint: integrating Sustainability and Community Design. 

After relocating to Beaufort, SC and working with Brown Design Studio for several years, she she transitioned to the public sector, first as a consultant and then on staff for the City of Beaufort. She learned to sit at the other side of the proverbial and literal table, administering the development standards, serving as the City Architect, and helping to write the form-based code for the city. She designed several buildings there, including a small park pavilion, and facilitated design review and development for hundreds of buildings in the historic district and along major commercial corridors.

After 8 years with the city, she returned to the private sector to focus on architecture, and town and neighborhood building with Moser Design Group. She holds professional license in South Carolina.