Kelsey Proud is an editor, trainer, coach and strategic consultant with more than a decade of experience creating high-quality, multiplatform journalism. She is currently the Interim Head of Programs at the Online News Association where her portfolio includes leading the ONA Women’s Leadership Accelerator and programming for ONA’s annual conference, along with other initiatives.
Previously, Kelsey was Managing Editor of Audience at WAMU in D.C. where she led a team of digital journalists, coordinated newsroom training initiatives, and consulted on projects across the organization.
Earlier in her career, Kelsey spent six years at St. Louis Public Radio in digital and management roles. During her time in St. Louis, the station earned several national awards for digital work including a Peabody-Facebook Futures of Media Award, an Online Journalism Award from the Online News Association and an Edward R. Murrow award.
Mentoring, training, progress and inclusion have been central to Kelsey throughout her career — she has volunteered as an active member of diversity and inclusion committees in her workplaces and as a mentor within the Next Generation Radio and Public Media Women In Journalism programs, among others. Kelsey has been a co-leader and trainer of the Public Media Journalists Association Editor’s Workshop and her writing on the industry has been published by Nieman Journalism Lab, NPR Training and others. She is a frequent guest speaker to students and other groups.
Kelsey is a former fellow with the Reynolds Journalism Institute at the University of Missouri, participated in NPR’s Incubation Lab, and is a member of the 2017 cohort of the Poynter Leadership Academy for Women in Digital Media. She continues to coach through the Digital Women Leaders program.
Kelsey lives in Indianapolis with her husband and would love to talk with you.