As Director of People Operations at The Heritage Foundation, Kelly Adams is responsible for leading Heritage’s People team and strategy that focuses on embracing technology and data, designing a great employee experience, and attracting and retaining exceptional talent.

Kelly joined Heritage in 2014 as Personnel Associate, and was promoted to Senior Personnel Manager in 2018, and then to Director of Personnel Operations in 2019. Prior to joining Heritage, Kelly oversaw the day-to-day Human Resources functions in her role as HR manager at the Committee for Economic Development (CED).

She holds a master’s degree in Clinical Counseling from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, and a bachelor’s degree in History and Sociology from Hood College in Frederick, Maryland. She obtained the SHRM-CP (Society for Human Resource Management – Certified Professional) certification in 2016.

Kelly was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up in Damascus, Maryland. She currently resides with her family in Northern Virginia.