Life Science Cares Boston is thrilled to welcome Kelly M. Brawn, PhD, as our new Head of Programs and Community Engagement. In this new role, Kelly will oversee our work in nonprofit partnerships and corporate engagement.
“We are committed to building on our early success in building deep and creative partnerships with community-based organizations and our colleagues in the life science industry. We are just scratching the surface of our collective impact,” said Sarah MacDonald, Life Science Cares Boston’s Executive Director. “We are thrilled to bring Kelly’s deep expertise in program design and nonprofit resource development on board at this critical moment of growth.” 
After completing her undergraduate degree at Ohio University, Kelly moved to the northernmost border of Thailand and Burma to volunteer for a grassroots NGO that combats human trafficking. There she learned the immense power of Networks of Good—passionate, intelligent, and kind people working together to combat the nefarious, inhumane, and pervasive ills of society. Kelly then successfully conducted multifaceted investigations on the religions and history of Thailand as a Fulbright Scholar and while earning two MA degrees from the University of California-Riverside and a PhD from the University of Chicago. During this time, she also designed and taught various University courses and published several manuscripts in academic journals. For one of her wilder adventures over the course of more than three years living in Thailand, Kelly was ordained as a Buddhist nun for two months—donning white robes and shaving her head and eyebrows on each of two full moons. Harnessing her passion for social change, equity, and multiculturalism, Kelly transitioned into the nonprofit space working as a grant writer and Major Gifts Officer for an organization that provides a range of direct services to refugees and immigrants.
Kelly joins Life Science Cares eager to supercharge the nexus of Boston’s life sciences industry and our community’s dedicated, mission-driven nonprofit community. She looks forward to working alongside an incredible team to continue building LSC’s programs and leveraging area resources as we strive for systemic change and the development of an unstoppable Network of Good that improves the quality of life and restores dignity to those in need through combatting poverty.
Kelly enjoys travelling the world in search of magical bites, exploring the States with her ragtag group of best buds while following their favorite bands and sampling craft beer, and hiking for a view with her husband, Tim, and her two adorable dogs, Ramble and Tangerine.