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Black History Month Profile: Kelly Mitchell

Kelly Mitchell

Kelly Mitchell graduated from Spring Arbor University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Organizational Management at the Grand Rapids site in 2016. She often volunteered to help students frame their presentations and convey ideas that were effective in the pursuit of a career in public service. Kelly is currently the president of Minority Business Development Help, LLC (MBDH); an independent contracting consulting firm that promotes small and medium-sized businesses. MBDH provides specialized and general advisory services to clients who are in pursuit of new business opportunities. MBDH promotes and advocates clients’ offerings and capabilities through national, state, and local advocacy; networking; business introductions; strategic capacity-building; and partnership development. MBDH teaches small businesses how to develop skills to become more educated and more administratively competitive.

Kelly is also contracted as an agent for Synergy Med Global Design Solutions, LLC, a rapid pandemic response for scalable testing, vaccination, staffing, public outreach, and rapid lab solution made in the USA. Synergy Med provides working deployment of large-scale COVID testing and screening using pooling technology, a mobile CLIA lab facility for testing positive cases, and a mobile clinic for further screening and vaccinations across the United States.

In August of 2016, Kelly was elected as one of 16 members of Michigan’s Electoral College. In May of 2017, she was appointed to the United States Department of Energy in Washington DC, where she served as Senior Advisor in the Office of Economic Impact and Diversity. This office was responsible for developing and executing department-wide policies to implement applicable legislation and executive orders that strengthen diversity goals affecting equal employment opportunities, small and disadvantaged businesses, minority education institutions, and historically underrepresented communities.

Kelly’s portfolio also includes supporting efforts to increase women and minority participation in the STEM field. She has visited and observed the educational culture of colleges and universities all over the United States. Her passion to help underserved and underrepresented communities was the biggest driving force in her government service. She is committed to her community by serving as a volunteer or board member for several organizations such as: Frederick Douglass Foundation of Michigan, Michigan Conservative Energy Forum, Tuskegee Airmen Memorial Highway, State Board of Barber Examiners, and Kent County Board of Solid Waste Management.