Founder

Dr. Amber Kelly is a community psychologist and the founding President and CEO of Community Engagement Collective (CEC), a Cincinnati-based nonprofit that creates opportunities for community-minded people to connect and work together.

CEC’s roots trace back to Amber’s childhood neighborhood, which lost its movie theater. Determined to bring that shared experience back in a communal and innovative way, she launched FamilyFlickn in 2017 with support from People’s Liberty, a Cincinnati philanthropic lab. FamilyFlickn brought movies back to the community by party bus, and the connections it sparked inspired her to create CEC.

Guided by a desire to bring people together and center community voice in nonprofit programming, she went on to launch Dare2Dialogue, which hosts conversations on inequality and strategies for a more inclusive Cincinnati.

Through CEC, she also led the launch of Greater Cincinnati’s first BIPOC Mental and Behavioral Health Provider Directory and coalition. Since 2017, Amber has worked in Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) as a trainer, practitioner, and educator. She is also an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Cincinnati, where she educates the next generation of changemakers through her course, Community Involvement.