Kelli Kelly Honored as Outstanding Graduate

Six out of 3,700 students were recognized this week by the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) as Outstanding Graduates, including Fallon’s own Kelli Kelly, who is graduating with a master’s degree in urban leadership next weekend. 

One of the most proud and enduring commencement traditions at UNLV is for the president to recognize a select group of outstanding graduates who encapsulate the absolute heights of achievement that all Rebels are truly capable of. 

UNLV grad student Kelli Kelly embodies the phrase, “Put your money where your mouth is” daily through her work. She is a non-profit leader, small-business advisor, and researcher who has raised millions of dollars in Nevada’s fight against rural and tribal food insecurity and has spent countless hours studying or advocating for related policies and laws.

Kelli maintained a near-perfect GPA while pursuing her master’s in urban leadership, with an eye on food systems policy, governance, emergency preparedness, and real-world problem-solving. 

She contributed to statewide food insecurity research for the Guinn Center, co-authored a forthcoming white paper on state-level food systems policy, and helped educate the public via media interviews on related topics.

Kelli juggled coursework with multiple day jobs. As executive director of the Fallon Food Hub, she secured $1.25 million in funding to prevent farm closures; significantly ramped up growers’ connections with businesses and consumers looking to buy fresh food; and distributed 105,000 pounds of food to 3,500 households, including tribal communities. She also dedicated countless hours to supporting local entrepreneurs as a Nevada Small Business Development Center advisor, helping launch 40 new ventures.

Her leadership extends to system-level change as well. Kelli led the development of the Nevada Assembly Bill 352, which was unanimously adopted and expanded sales limits for cottage food operations.

And she’s not done. Kelli continues to serve in multiple governance and advisory roles across Nevada’s food and economic development ecosystem and is currently developing a regional toolkit to support municipal planning in Southern Nevada. 

Kelly joins five of her classmates in this honor, including a physician-scientist striving to make eye conditions a thing of the past; a first-generation immigrant dedicated to serving vulnerable populations;  a geoscientist seeking solutions to water scarcity; a student-athlete with a penchant for gaming mathematics; a small-business advocate combating food insecurity; and a researcher spearheading a variety of initiatives to help children and seniors. This spring’s six honorees have shown not only book smarts but also street smarts as they help improve their communities and their education.