Kelly began his career in the public housing arena as an architect for the San Francisco Housing Authority in 1983. For nearly a decade, Kelly held a series of progressively responsible positions at the authority and was ultimately named its acting executive director—becoming the first registered architect to head a public housing authority in the U.S. In 1994, Kelly left San Francisco to serve at the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development as a Troubled Agency Recovery Specialist, providing technical assistance to the Transition Team at the Housing Authority of New Orleans. Then in 1995, he was named executive director of the New Orleans housing authority—a post he held until 2000. In 2000, Kelly assumed leadership of the District of Columbia Housing Authority, one of the nation’s largest with a staff of 800 and operating and capital budgets of more than $300 million. DCHA administers 8,000 units of public housing and 12,000 units under the Housing Choice Voucher Program, providing affordable housing for nearly 10 percent of the District’s population. In 2010, Kelly resigned from DCHA to become general manager of the New York City Housing Authority. Kelly served in this position until he was asked to serve as the Administrative Receiver of the Philadelphia Housing Authority by HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan and Philadelphia mayor Michael Nutter. Kelly took a $60,000 annual pay reduction to return to DCHA as Director of Department of Housing and Community Development in June 2012 after resigning his Philadelphia position over HUD notification by PHA staffers that Kelly was having a consensual affair with a woman he had appointed to a senior staff position and, that despite having little or no credentials for the post, he was approving her for large pay increases. On January 18, 2013 the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that after two investigative reviews, regarding the financial allegations, the woman, having "two master's degrees and a doctorate in philosophy", was qualified for the promotions she received". Both the Philadelphia Housing Authority Internal Office of Audit and Compliance and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban DevelopmentOffice of the Inspector General, "found no evidence" that Kelly misspent federal government funding. Kelly rejoined the NYCHA, again as General Manager - on March 25, 2015. NYCHA administers more than 178,000 apartments with at least 400,000 residents. Kelly announced his resignation as General Manager of the New York City Housing Authority on January 22, 2018, following growing pressure related to the agency's efforts to hide its lead-paint inspection failures. Kelly currently holds a number of academic appointments including assistant adjunct professor in the School of Architecture and Engineering at Howard University in Washington, D.C. He also serves as a Preceptor for the Project 55 Fellowship program at Princeton University, mentoring graduates with an interest in public service through a year-long fellowship. From 1997 to 2000, Kelly served as the Harvey-Wadsworth Professor of Urban Affairs at Tulane University, as well as a Visiting Lecturer at the University of California at Berkeley School of Architecture during the early 1980s. He received teaching credentials in New Jersey and California, and graduated from Princeton's program in Teaching Preparation. Kelly is the President of the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities, a Washington, D.C., based national non-profit organization whose members represent large metropolitan areas in the U.S. The council works to preserve and improve public and affordable housing through advocacy, research, policy analysis and public education. He also serves as vice chairman of the National Organization of African Americans in Housing and sits on the boards of the National Center for Housing and Child Welfare; District of Columbia Interagency Commission on Homelessness; and the Canal Park Development Association. In 2009, he became Chairman of the Board of City Year, DC. Kelly is a member of the American Institute of Architects; the National Housing Conference; the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials; the American Planning Association; the American Institute of Certified Planners; and is the US Green Building Council's Lead Green Associate.
Personal life
Kelly's wife is a certified nurse-midwife and clinical professor in obstetrics and gynecology at George Washington University medical school in Washington DC. His daughter Rosa, who holds a master's degree in urban planning from The Pratt Institute, is a project manager for the New York City Department of Small Business Services. His son Kevin is an actor and a 2015 graduate of Brown University, currently living and working in Seattle. His daughter Mikka works in education in San Francisco.
