In 2000, Kelly assumed leadership of the District of Columbia Housing Authority (DCHA[1]), one of the nation's largest with a staff of 800 and operating and capital budgets of more than $300 million.
At the end of September 2009, Kelly resigned from DCHA[2] to become general manager of the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA).
[3] Kelly served in this position until March 2011 when he was asked first to serve as the Administrative Receiver of the Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) by HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan and Philadelphia mayor Michael Nutter, and then by Mayor Michael Nutter to become permanent executive director at PHA.
[4] Kelly returned to Washington DC as Director of Department of Housing and Community Development in June 2012,[5] after resigning his Philadelphia position for having had a consensual relationship that violated PHA's new ethics code prohibiting fraternization among senior staff and subordinates.
[7] In March 2018, Kelly joined the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation as executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer in the midst of a major expansion of this mission-driven industrial park,[8] after leaving NYCHA at the end of February 2018.