Kelly Nelson

Kelly Nelson is the Senior Program Manager at the Center for School, Health and Education with responsibility for strategic planning and implementation of CSHE initiatives and programs in conjunction with the Director.

Kelly joined the CSHE in 2012 to advance population health and equity by preventing school dropout and improving graduation rates for K-12 students. In her current role, she is a public health liaison between professionals in schools, school-based health centers, health departments, and community organizations working in an integrated way to remove social barriers to health and learning for high-risk youth. In addition, she manages grants and evaluation activities, and has developed and co-authored reports, issue briefs and fact sheets on a range of topics including, graduation as a public health priority and removing barriers to health and educational success.

Prior to her work at APHA, Kelly promoted health for marginalized populations through various roles at the National Institutes of Health, the University of Pennsylvania, and Temple University Hospital. She received her Masters of Public Health, with a focus on community oriented primary care in vulnerable populations, at the George Washington University. Kelly holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Howard University and is dedicated to advancing equity for vulnerable groups.

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