Biography
Angela Maria Kelley is the Chief Advisor for Policy and Partnerships at both the American Immigration Council (AIC) and the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA).
Before joining AILA and AIC in June, 2022, Kelley was the Senior Counselor on Immigration and Border to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Kelley joined the administration in January, 2021, having served on the Biden Harris Transition Team as an immigration advisor from September 2020 to January 2021.
Prior to joining the administration, from 2017-2020, Kelley was in philanthropy, serving as the Senior Immigration Strategic Advisor at Open Society Foundations/Open Society Policy Center where she directed over three million dollars in the Foundation’s 501c4 grants.
In 2015-2016 she was the Executive Director of the Center for American Progress Action Fund, the advocacy arm of the Center for American Progress where she oversaw the management, operations and strategic direction for the 501c4.
In the years 2009-2014 Kelley, as Vice-President for Immigration, oversaw the immigration policy, research, communications, and legislative strategy work at the Center for American Progress.
In late 2014-early 2015 she served as a White House Advisor on immigration executive actions where she coordinated the strategy and implementation of several Obama-era immigration executive orders.
She also was the director of the Immigration Policy Center and the deputy director of the National Immigration Forum. In both roles she managed the organizations’ legislative, communications, research and policy work.
Kelley began her career as a legal services attorney, at Ayuda in Washington DC representing low-income immigrants in domestic relations and immigration matters.
In addition to her policy expertise, Kelley, has extensive experience in communications and legislative strategies, speaking to the press and media appearances as well as non-profit management. In May 2023 she was recognized as one of 500 people in Washington influencing national policy by Washingtonian Magazine. She is the proud daughter of South American immigrants and mother to two daughters. She resides with her husband Michael in McLean, Virginia.