ALLYSON KELLEY
President and Founder
Dr. Allyson Kelley (Medicine Bag Woman) is a proud descendant of Swedish, Irish, and Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. She was born and raised in Oregon, on the traditional homelands of the Kalapuya Tribes—whose name is often translated as “place of peace.” Dr. Kelley holds a Doctorate in Public Health in community health, as well as a Master of Public Health in public health practice. She is in long-term recovery and healing, and is the founder of Allyson Kelley & Associates PLLC, a community-based recovery organization in Oregon that serves communities across Turtle Island.
For more than two decades, Dr. Kelley has worked in close partnership with communities. She leads research and publishing efforts focused on translating outcomes of healing based programs and interventions. She is the author of seven books, along with foundational research and evaluation papers that contribute to new knowledge about what it takes to heal... heal ourselves, heal one another, and heal the world.
Dr. Kelley serves as a professor at the University of North Carolina Greensboro and as a consultant to the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, the University of New Mexico Center for Native American Health, the Oklahoma University Health Sciences Center, the Indian Country Child Trauma Center, and numerous Tribal health programs, non-profits, and consortia.
Beyond the legacy work at AKA, she is an auntie, mother, daughter, sister, and friend to many. A creative spirit grounded in the pursuit of joy and truth, she grows traditional plants for medicine, writes poetry, and practices as an art therapy life coach.
