As of August 2023, Kelly is completing her master's in higher education at the University of Oslo, focusing on the ARUA Centre for Climate and Development's organizational structure and its support for climate and development research collaboration. She is the Executive Producer and Host of the podcast THESIS (Trends in Higher Education Systems in International Spheres).

While an undergraduate student at New York University, Kelly was an active member of the Divest from Fossil Fuels movement, now NYU's chapter of the Sunrise Movement. In 2014 she studied abroad in Berlin, where she founded a club exploring sustainability differences in Germany. From 2018-2021 she served as the Assistant Director of Internships, Career Services and Study Abroad at Menlo College.

Her diverse experiences as a student activist, study abroad participant, advisor, international student, and researcher inform her contributions to CANIE.