DJ, Christine and their two children live in the Ward 4 community of Winston Heights-Mountview. Their children attended elementary school in Brentwood, their music teacher is in Rosemont, and they are active with the cross-country ski club that operates at Confederation Park in Charleswood and Collingwood (Triwood).
DJ’s work and volunteerism are focused on community engagement and partnership development - bringing people together to solve problems.
Volunteer
DJ is the former president of Winston Heights/Mountview Community Association where he currently sits on the Development Review and Finance committees. He is the chair of the PeckaKucha Night Calgary speaker series and a City Council appointment board member of Ward 4’s Greenview Industrial Business Improvement Area.
DJ worked with City Council to initiate the City of Calgary’s Open Data Portal, making City data available to the public, and the Calgary Poet Laureate, a program funded at no cost to taxpayers.
Work
DJ is currently the Director of Community Partnerships at the University of Calgary where he and his team broker collaborations between the university and community groups, such as TELUS Spark, Calgary Economic Development, Calgary Pride, Calgary Stampede and United Way of Calgary and Area, to combine resources and goals to improve the lives of Calgarians.
DJ previously worked for the City of Calgary where he led the corporate marketing team, authored the City’s Digital Strategy and Information Management and Security Policy, pitched the Innovation Lab, and, most notably, was the strategy lead on their Corporate Cultural Transformation Project, which laid the foundation for a new vision, mission, values, and methods of prioritizing and budgeting. As a senior City administrator once said of him: “You probably know how the city, as a whole, works better than anyone else.”
Education
DJ has a degree from the University of Calgary and is a graduate of Leadership Calgary. He has a Change Management Certificate from the University of Calgary, a Project Management Certificate from Mount Royal University, and is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) by the Project Management Insitute.
Recognition
For his volunteer efforts, DJ has received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal and the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal, and projects he’s led have received the United Way of Calgary and Area’s President’s Award, International Association of Facilitators Platinum Impact Award, and earned the International Association of Public Participation (IAP2) Organization of the Year.
DJ has been named to Avenue Magazine’s Top 40 Under 40, where they said of him: “Kelly brings passion and commitment to his cause. And that cause is making Calgary a better place to live. Why he’s the top: DJ Kelly is committed to the big picture — a better Calgary — through a more vibrant arts community, a more accountable political system and more transparent communication. And he is involved hands-on in making change.”