Kelly Sweeney McShane is a well-respected and innovative nonprofit leader in Washington, DC. For over 30 years, she has worked tirelessly to improve the lives of homeless and low-income families in Washington, DC through providing direct services as well as finding long-term solutions through system change. Her bold leadership in housing systems and healthcare delivery is transforming care in both fields.
Kelly has been President and CEO of Community of Hope (COH) since 2001. Her leadership and foresight have grown COH from a budget of $1.8 million to $47 million, allowing the organization to annually serve the needs of about 17,000 people. Founded in 1980, COH’s mission is to improve health and end family homelessness to make Washington, DC more equitable. Kelly has led the organization through four completed strategic plans and multiple capital projects.
Kelly has provided leadership at a city level in transforming systems to help families. Since 2006, Kelly has served as a member of the Mayor’s Interagency Council on Homelessness, including co-chairing the Strategic Planning Committee. She currently serves as the Chair of the Board of Directors of the DC Primary Care Association and as a member of the Federal City Council. She has previously served as a board member of 501cTech, Franciscan Mission Service, the Center for Non-profit Advancement, and as an advisory committee member of the DC Bar Pro Bono Center. She is a member of the 2006 class of Leadership Greater Washington. She received a Master’s in Business Administration from Georgetown University and has a Bachelor’s degree from Harvard University.
Kelly has won numerous awards, including the Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation’s Exponent Award, in 2009, Washington Women of Excellence Award in 2015, and the Washington Business Journal’s Women Who Mean Business Award in 2017. Kelly previously served as Executive Director of Hannah House, a transitional housing program for homeless women in the District of Columbia, and was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Sierra Leone, West Africa. She lives in Washington, DC with her husband Kevin McShane, and they are parents to three adult children.