Specialties & Interests:

• Kelly’s dissertation focused on how interior design may play a role in maternal mental health and well-being. Interior design for maternal health is her main area of research interest.
• She loves working with students and seeing their growth through the program and into their careers. Her students bring a smile to her face! She is impressed by their big hearts and commitment to their interior design studies.  Her greatest hope is to make a positive impact on others through her student mentoring.
• She is an advocate for accessible design as a standard component in all new construction homes. She is informed by her own personal story as well as her educational focus.
• Kelly and David have three children–a nine-year-old son and four-year-old boy/girl twins. She says that David is a great cook and loves making beautiful meals for everyone!
• Kelly completed her Ph.D. while working full-time. When asked how she did that, she clearly answers that family support made it possible.  She has a multi-generational household with her mom and mother-in-law both helping “raise the kids.”  Her family’s support and encouragement gave her time to write and continue her studies.  Her journey to completing her degree not only included full-time work but also giving birth to twins, getting through the pandemic, and helping her oldest son recover from several spinal surgeries (including a 60-day stay in Children’s Hospital in Birmingham).  She credits her husband, extended family and her advisory committee’s constant encouragement for her ability to continue her studies.  She says “…seeing the look on my oldest son’s face when I came home and said, ‘I did it,’ after defending her dissertation, made it all worth it!”
• She expresses her enjoyment of being part of the ASID Alabama interior design community and appreciates the organizational focus on education and research to inform design. She is a member and frequent author of the ASID AL newsletter committee.