Kelly Kinnison, Ph.D. named new permanent CEO of KCRHA

Kelly Kinnisn, Ph.D.
CEO King County Regional Homeless Authority

Kelly Kinnison, Ph.D., has been selected to lead the King County Regional Homelessness Authority. 

Dr. Kinnison’s appointment as Chief Executive Officer by the Governing Committee and Implementation Board comes after a thorough and thoughtful search process conducted by the firm Nonprofit Professionals Advisory Group (NPAG). 

They collaborated closely with the CEO Search Committee, which included members from our Boards, community, and KCRHA staff.

Dr. Kinnison, expressing her deep commitment to the cause, shared she’s honored to receive the confirmation and added, 

“There are challenges ahead, but I am confident that given the resources and goodwill in the King County region we can make significant progress together.” 

She begins August 1.

Dr. Kinnison is a senior leader with 15 years of federal social services policy experience. She’s wrapping up her position as the Director of Family and Community Policy at the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). 

She’s successfully led and coordinated major projects on lived experience and HHS’ Equity Technical Assistance Center, which aims to improve the coordination and integration of social services. Partnership, collaboration, and consultation is standard practice in her work.

Dr. Kinnison joined HHS from the Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service, where she served as a Branch Chief of a team conducting research and analysis on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Before working for the federal government, she was an evaluation consultant for community organizations working on violence prevention and mentoring. 

Dr. Kinnison holds a Ph.D. in community psychology from the University of Illinois at Chicago.