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Kelly Mikelson is a senior research associate at the Urban Institute focusing on workforce development. She wrote a paper on Senior Community Service Employment Program and was called to a Senate hearing to provide information on the program. Previously, she was a research scientist for The Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs. Between July 2012 to June 2013, she worked in the Office of the Provost at Yale University as Program Manager for Faculty Development and Diversity.

Early life
Kelly Mikelson was born on December 12, 1969 in Kansas City. Her parents are Gay Mikelson and Thomas Mikelson. She has 2 brothers. She attended Iowa City West High School for her first 2 years of high school and then moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts where she attended Cambridge Rindge and Latin School. She excelled in soccer throughout her childhood but chose not to pursue it in college.

College
Mikelson attended Harvard University. She got a Masters in Public Policy, also from Harvard. She got a Ph.D. in Public Policy Analysis from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin.

Career
Mikelson's research focus is on workforce development. She wrote a paper on Senior Community Service Employment Program and was called to a U.S. Senate briefing to provide information on the program and its usefulness in retraining workers. Previously, she was a research scientist for The Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin.

Between July 2012 to June 2013, she worked in the Office of the Provost at Yale University as Program Manager for Faculty Development and Diversity.

Volunteerism
After leaving the Urban Institute, Mikelson worked as a volunteer in the Austin Independent School District. She helped to start the Liberal Arts and Science Academy foundation. When AISD was debating moving LASA to its own building, she advocated for a more centrally located school at a public hearing in front of the School Board. Mikelson has also served as a member of the Facilities and Bond Planning Advisory Committee for AISD since January 2019.

She is on the board for several nonprofits in different areas. She now serves on the advisory board for IDEAL Immigration, working to reform the US Immigration System. She is also on the board of Young Voices of Austin, a nonprofit that helps teach students music, leadership skills ad excellence in schools.