Kelly Veney Darnell

As a Senior Leader for more than 15 years, Kelly Veney Darnell is a results driven executive with a comprehensive array of leadership and management skills that have been developed through a broad and unique career spanning the nonprofit, banking, government, legal and political sectors.

Kelly Darnell is the Interim Chief Executive Officer/Chief Operating Officer (COO) for the Bipartisan Policy Center where she is responsible for leading operations, strategic direction and revenue generation for the organization.  She was formerly Executive Vice President and COO for The Executive Leadership Council (ELC) and United Way of the National Capital Area, where she led the organization’s operations including Human Resources, IT, facilities, community impact, membership services, marketing and communications and fundraising teams.

Her operations experience also includes her tenure as COO for the Washington, D.C. Office of the State Superintendent of Education.  As COO, she led student transportation, procurement, human resources and general operations, with her largest accomplishment being the removal of the student transportation division out of court receivership.

Prior to her operations positions, she served on the transition team for the Bank of America/Merrill Lynch merger, where she worked to integrate market risk programs, and as a Credit Risk Manager in Capital Markets Structured Finance, focusing on mortgage finance and derivatives.  She also practiced corporate law at Saul Ewing, LLP.

Kelly has held several political positions including serving as the Federal Affairs Director for the City of Atlanta under the leadership of Mayor Bill Campbell and as a Legislative Assistant for Congressman John Lewis of Atlanta in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Her board service includes the D.C. Bar Foundation, University of Maryland, School of Public Policy Dean’s Advisory Council, Calvary Women’s Services and Young Black Giving Back.  She is a Woodrow Wilson Fellow and has received numerous awards, including the 2019 Washington Business Journal's Women Who Mean Business Award.

She received her B.A. in Economics from Spelman College and a Master’s of Public Policy degree from the University of Maryland.  She received her law degree from the American University, Washington College of Law.