Kelly holds a Master's degree in Education from the University of Ottawa, an Honours Bachelor of Social Work from Western University, and a Bachelor of Arts with a major in Psychology from Concordia University. Over the past 20 years, she has worked across the education, healthcare, and community correctional settings. Her areas of professional expertise include crisis intervention, mental health and addictions counselling, risk assessment, and community reintegration support. More recently, her work within the CEGEP sector has focused on accessibility services, learning strategies, and the analysis of student retention and success indicators.

Kelly has been teaching at John Abbott College since 2024.