kverel@pps.org
Kelly joined the Public Markets program at PPS in 2006 to support the Diversifying Farmers Markets Grant Program, funded through the Ford and W. K. Kellogg Foundations. In addition to administering the grants program, Kelly provided technical assistance to over 40 farmers markets from 22 states across the United States and worked to develop an effective communications and marketing campaign for the program.
Currently, she is working on a number of projects that are focused on the revitalization and creation of strong markets and market networks, including the Kaiser Permanente Farmers Market Network project and New York City’s Moore Street Market project. Kelly also coordinates and develops course material for PPS’ “How to Create Successful Markets” training course held semi-annually in New York City.
Prior to PPS, Kelly was the publicity associate at Greenmarket, the largest network of farmers markets in the country. For three market seasons Kelly promoted over 40 farmers markets throughout the five boroughs of New York City. Before joining Greenmarket, Kelly earned her farmer credentials as an apprentice on two certified organic farms. At The Farm School in western Massachusetts, she cultivated and harvested vegetables on 13 acres, and marketed produce through a 45-member CSA, a semiweekly farmers market in Boston’s Copley Square, and sold to over ten restaurants in the Boston/Cambridge area. In Tuscany at Tenuta di Spannocchia, Kelly spent several weeks gardening and tending to a variety of heritage breed animals on the estate.
Education
College of the Holy Cross, Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies, 1997
Boston University, Masters of Science in Communication Studies, 2002