ALLYSON KELLEY
President and Founder
Allyson Kelley, DrPH, is a person who remembers. She founded AKA in 2019 to grow the circle of people involved in transformative research and evaluation efforts. Today the AKA team includes elders, youth, students, advocates, and people with the lived experience of healing and recovery.
Allyson went to school to learn how to be in a world of intellectuals and research paradigms. She earned degrees that give her initials after her name. Some people know what these mean, others do not care. Allyson’s work now focuses on what can be done to lessen suffering and addressing health and social inequities. This shows up as mattering work, opportunities, mentoring, and partnerships - what she calls legacy work. What will remain of this one wild and beautiful life when all is done.
Allyson is proud of her family and her ancestors- who were Swedish Immigrants, Irish potato farmers, and descendants of the Eastern Band of Cherokee. She treasures her role as a mother, auntie, and daughter. She lives in the mountains of Central Oregon. When she’s not working with communities - she paints, writes books and poetry, and grows herbs to make medicine.
