Kelly grew up in North Carolina and graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2020. Following her time at UNC, she joined the Brookings Institution’s Center on Regulation and Markets as a research assistant, where—in addition to exploring her interests in climate regulation—she contributed to work on artificial intelligence, consumer protection, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to coming to HKS, she earned a master’s degree in Econometrics and Mathematical Economics from the London School of Economics.

Kelly’s research interests center on the interplay between international political and economic forces and domestic environmental policy outcomes. During her time at HKS, she hopes to study such issues as the potential for carbon leakage from climate regulation, the political economy of climate agreements, and the effects of trade policy on climate policy passage and enforcement. In her free time, she enjoys visiting local parks and coffee shops, enabling her pandemic-era jigsaw puzzle obsession, and traveling to new countries whenever she has the chance.