Katie Kelly joins New Local as Chair
2 November 2023
New Local appoints Katie Kelly as its new Chair.
Katie is the former Depute Chief Executive of East Ayrshire Council and is one of the leading voices on community power and public service transformation.
Over her 30-year career in local government she has worked in areas including housing, economic growth, community wealth building, transformation and health and wellbeing.
Katie commented:
“I am incredibly excited to be joining New Local, I share their vision and have been impressed with the invaluable support they provide through their network of members, cutting edge research, and unique learning events.”
While at East Ayrshire, Katie led the influential Vibrant Communities initiative which transformed the relationship between public bodies and residents.
She said:
“I have experienced at first hand the incredible things that communities can achieve when we work alongside each other and combine our strengths, skills and talents for the collective good.
“Community power is pivotal in leading public service transformation, improving wellbeing and tackling our society’s inequalities head on. The time has come to accelerate and mainstream community power and to embed it in policy and legislation. As chair of New Local I want to do everything possible to make this a reality.
“This is a time to collaborate not compete. There are so many fantastic communities, organisations and networks doing groundbreaking work with the same vision. We need to unite and expand our network of influence to become one movement of change around community power. As Chair of New Local I want to offer an open invitation to any organisations that want to work with us to drive forward community power.”
New Local Chief Executive Adam Lent commented:
“Anyone who has met Katie will know of her unfailing enthusiasm, deep commitment and vast expertise in public service transformation and community power. New Local is incredibly fortunate to count her as our new chair, and we’re excited to grow and develop under her guidance.”
Katie replaces Prof Donna Hall, who stood as New Local chair for five years.
“I want to give my heartfelt thanks to my friend and mentor, Donna Hall and for all she has done to further the cause of Community Power,” says Katie. “She has left an incredible legacy as chair, and it is humbling to continue her work in this field.”
Katie has been an expert member of many national advisory groups including ones relating to health inequalities, gambling harm and violence against women and girls. She has collaborated closely with author and social entrepreneur Hilary Cottam.
If you would like to have a conversation with Katie about collaborating with New Local please write to: kkelly@newlocal.org.uk.
Notes to Editors
- Vibrant Communities was established in April 2013 and was greatly influenced by Cormac Russell’s groundbreaking work on Asset Based Community Development.
- The role of New Local chair was previously voluntary but will now be remunerated.
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