Kelly received her JD from Brigham Young University, her MLIS from the University of North Texas, and her BS in Natural Sciences and Mathematics from Washington and Lee University. Before coming to the UO, she was the head of reference at the Wiener-Rogers Law Library at the Univeristy of Nevada Las Vegas. Prior to becoming a librarian, Kelly was a lawyer at Clark County Legal Services, focusing on HIV/AIDS law. She teaches legal research, provides consultations for legal researchers, and is active in the American Association of Law Libraries and its Western-Pacific chapter (WestPac).