Staff

Kelli D. Kelley is the mother of two children born preterm – Jackson Thomas born at 24 weeks in 2000 and Lauren Elizabeth born at 34 weeks in 2003. She has invested her time and talents during the past 10 years to raise awareness of the growing problem of preterm birth and to support families who share her experience. She is often sought out to speak about preterm birth, the high incidence of post-traumatic stress disorder and depression among these parents, and the need for support and navigation resources for all families who have had these experiences.

In 2014, Kelli presented at the 5th Annual Management of Obstetric Crisis:  Developing Practice Strategies to Maximize Maternal & Fetal Outcomes at the St. David’s Women’s Center of Austin. In 2011, Kelli was selected as a parent liaison and spokesperson for the National Perinatal Association as  they work to facilitate the development of Multidisciplinary Guidelines for the Care of Late-Preterm Infants. She was asked to participate in Pediatric Grand Rounds at the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio in 2011. Kelli has provided keynote addresses for conferences, such as the Texas Premature Infant Health Summit, the Educational Summit on Prematurity at the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio and the Association of Women’s Health Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses Texas Section Conference. Read more about her speaker’s profile.

Kelli was named a 2015 Communicator of the Year from Women Communicators of Austin, a 2011 Local Hero through Bank of America’s Neighborhood Excellence Initiative® and a 2011 Health Care Hero through the Austin Business Journal. She is the 2010 recipient of the Austin Under 40 Award for Medical and Health Care, and an ENERGIZER Keep Going Hall of Fame Semifinalist. Kelli serves on the steering committee for the National Coalition for Infant Health, the Parent Relation Council for the National Association of Neonatal Nurses, the leadership team of the Preemie Parent Alliance and is a member of the Pediatric Family Advisory Council at St. David’s North Austin Medical Center. She is a past President of the Austin chapter of the Association for Women in Communications and a graduate of Leadership Austin.

In 2005, the Kelley family served as the Ambassador family for the Austin division of the March of Dimes. Kelli served on the Austin division Board of Directors of the March of Dimes for four years and was selected to serve on the National Mission Volunteer Advisory Council for two years.

Prior to the birth of her children, Kelli worked in public relations with the The Arc of the Capital Area as the Public Relations Coordinator and then as the Development Coordinator for the Mental Health Association in Texas. She went on to work for Cunningham Communication, a national high-tech public relations agency, as a Public Relations Manager and Marketing Coordinator where she received numerous promotions and awards for her leadership and accomplishments.

Kelli received a bachelor of journalism degree from The University of Texas at Austin. In her free time she enjoys spending time with her husband, children and friends, reading, cooking, exercising and participating in Bible study.

An Amarillo native, Jennifer now lives in Austin, Texas with her husband Jonathan. Jennifer’s daughter Evie was born in the spring of 2015 at 25 weeks gestation weighing 1 pound, 13 ounces. She and her husband experienced firsthand the positive impact that Hand to Hold’s in-person family support can have as they navigated the milestones and challenges of having a baby born premature. After a lengthy NICU stay, Evie is now at home and doing well. Jennifer brings her passion and enthusiasm for nonprofit fundraising to Hand to Hold, whose mission is so close to her heart.

Prior to joining Hand to Hold, Jennifer served as the Executive Director of Foster Angels of Central Texas, where she assisted thousands of children in the foster care system in Central Texas and gained significant experience in fundraising and leading the operational components of a non-profit organization. She is a graduate of the University of North Texas in Denton.

Angela Wright has been with Hand to Hold since 2011 and serves as the organization’s Operations Director, responsible for the operational functions of the company, including finances and human resources. Prior to moving into this role, she supported the organization’s event planning and grants management efforts. As the mother of three active boys, she knows how to juggle competing activities and keep everyone organized and leverages these skills as she supports Hand to Hold’s growth initiatives.

Angela holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Advertising from the University of Texas at Austin. She worked in marketing communications and public relations for more than 13 years, supporting high technology companies around the world. She uses this knowledge and experience to additionally assist with Hand to Hold’s program marketing and development.

Beyond her work with Hand to Hold, Angela is highly involved in her children’s schools, volunteering with booster clubs and supporting her husband’s remodeling business. She enjoys reading, baking and hanging out with friends in her very limited spare time!

Claire lives in Austin with her husband Matt, and graduated Texas State University in August 2015 with her Master of Social Work. She previously worked at Child Protective Services, where she served foster children, the biological parents and families of the children, and their foster placements. Claire is passionate about working with children and families to provide them with support through trying times.

Claire struggled with many years of infertility, as well as a late miscarriage. She recently gave birth to her first child and is enjoying the joys of new motherhood. Claire also has second hand experience with preemies through her sister-in-law’s antepartum stay due to complete placenta previa and delivering her niece at 33 weeks and weighing 4 pounds. Claire witnessed her sister-in-law’s heartache of leaving one child at home for her antepartum hospital stay and then again when she had to return home without her newborn.

Claire also has experience volunteering with a local homeless shelter as well as a grieving center where she helped facilitate the children’s group sessions.

Emily was born and raised in Austin, TX, and has worked in the nonprofit sector for a few years. She sees it as a way to support and give back to the city and its people that are so important to her. She was drawn to Hand to Hold because of their amazing mission; some of Emily’s cousins went into the NICU after they were born, and she saw firsthand how much her family could have used this kind of support.

During her free time, Emily can be found playing nerdy board games with her husband, bragging about her collection of Harry Potter memorabilia and watching TV with her cat, Momo.

Mary Dudley is the proud mother of Hand to Hold’s Founder and Executive Director, Kelli Dudley Kelley. Mary has been with Hand to Hold from the very beginning. Her first visit to a NICU was the night her first grandson was born at 24 weeks. Mary has been by Kelli’s side through the whole journey and is proud to be working as Administrator Coordinator. Mary has been a legal secretary, an assistant to a bank president, the owner and operator of a retail garden center and manager of a health club. She says working for Hand to Hold is living a dream come true with her daughter, helping ensure NICU Families like their own receive support that they so desperately needed 17 years ago. Mary recently celebrated her 50th wedding anniversary and is looking forward to moving to the Austin area to be close to her two daughters and five grandchildren.

Jenna Maxfield has been with Hand to Hold since 2017 and serves as the organization’s Podcast Producer, working with Kelli Kelley on booking, writing, and editing all podcasts. Jenna started her career as an English teacher, then eventually worked as an administrator at Fusion Academy in Austin. She graduated from Texas A&M with a Bachelor of Arts in English, and after teaching for several years in Texas, moved to Los Angeles where she obtained her Masters in Professional Writing from the University of Southern California.

Jenna’s passion is writing, and she loves the creativity that goes along with the podcast production. Beyond her work with Hand to Hold, Jenna is an avid reader and writer, writing her own fiction in her spare time. She also has two dogs and a cat that keep her pretty busy.

Becky lives in a small town north of Austin, Texas with her husband and two beautiful children. After their daughter was born healthy and full-term, there was no reason to think their second child would chart a different course. However, Becky’s water broke in her 24th week with her second pregnancy, and their son was born at 25 weeks and 2 days. He spent 103 days in the NICU, with the family doing their best to balance their time between being home with Big Sister during the holidays and being at the NICU with their preemie.

After discharge, Becky quickly learned that the journey doesn’t end when you leave the hospital. She understands the barrage of emotions NICU parents feel, from joy and gratitude to guilt and fear. Before the birth of her preemie, Becky worked for 13 years in Early Childhood Education, most recently as an administrator at a large preschool, where she developed a passion for learning, supporting families, and helping others grow. Now as a Family Support Navigator working directly with NICU families, she is able to channel that passion into helping families find purpose in their pain, using her experiences to support and empower parents facing a similar journey.

Zoe Roush was born in Amarillo, TX and has recently come back to Austin after spending time abroad in Australia. She has a degree in Environmental Studies from Texas State University in San Marcos, TX. Zoe is dedicated to serving others having previously worked at Foster Angels of Central Texas and Keep Texas Beautiful. A close family friend of Jennifer Hayhurst, she was inspired by Evie’s story to support NICU families as the Development Coordinator at Hand to Hold.

Alicia resides in Austin with her husband and three beautiful daughters. A former native of New Orleans, LA, she and Christopher met art a conference while working in the specialty banking field. She was quickly swept off her feet and moved to Dallas, TX. They have been in Austin since 2009. Alicia has owned her own floral and event business and has worked as an Executive Assistant/Office and Design Coordinator for a large Church in Dallas. Alicia’s own miscarriages have given her a passion for NICU and bereaved families. She enjoys working to bring her creative touch to the events for families in the NICU.

Jenny hails from Lafayette, Louisiana, but was transplanted to Texas soon after. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts at the University of Texas and currently resides outside of Houston in Cypress, Texas.

Before joining Hand to Hold, Jenny worked for the American Cancer Society as a volunteer coordinator and for the University of Virginia School of Medicine, where she recruited community members to participate as “patients” in clinical skills programs. She is happy for the opportunity to combine both of these work experiences into her role as Family Support Navigator at Hand to Hold, where she works with incoming and current peer mentors to ensure each family that seeks support has a hand to hold.

Jenny has two sweet girls who are both native New Yorkers, but she is grateful to be living in Texas again where her family resides. She enjoys volunteering at both of her girls’ schools. In 2016 she married her husband, Kevin, a nice cajun boy.

Christine’s first experience of the NICU was after her daughter, Isabelle, was born at 28 weeks. The family spent 45 days in the NICU before losing her to NEC. Christine’s third child also spent almost two weeks in the NICU, following a congenital heart defect diagnosis at birth.

After these two difficult and life-altering events, Christine recognized the importance of support and resources for families in the NICU and beyond, which were the reasons she was drawn to Hand to Hold. As a Family Support Navigator, she spends time in the NICU, talking to families and helping them through their stay. Additionally, her experience of loss guides her to help parents who have suffered any form of bereavement involving the death of a baby or a child of any age.

Christine grew up in a bilingual household, speaking English and Spanish. She studied Modern Languages at the University of Oxford, before working for many years in sports sponsorship and marketing in London. She now stays busy with her husband and three sons. In her spare time, she enjoys watching her sons compete in sports and loves reading, travel, food, good wine and exercise.

Contessa is a mother of two boys who were both born at 34 weeks. While their NICU stay was short, Contessa well remembers the sadness and anxiety of leaving the hospital without her baby.

Before deciding to stay at home with her children, Contessa worked for almost a decade in Long Term Care. As a Nursing Facility Administrator she managed a 120 bed Skilled Nursing Facility in Austin.

Contessa and her husband are graduates of Southwest Texas State University and have been happily married for 13 years. Contessa is the PTA President Elect for her children’s school and enjoys staying physically active with her elementary age boys. From hiking to zip lining she and her family never miss an opportunity to enjoy the great outdoors.