Kara Kelly

Communications Program Director

Kara Kelly has more than 25 years of experience in higher education, public service, financial services, publishing, and media. She has an extensive background in strategic communications, traditional print media, and digital content production.

Before joining the Pulte Institute in 2023, Kara worked as Marketing Director for both Cressy & Everett Real Estate and Hilltop Wealth & Tax Solutions. She also served as Public Relations Manager for Teachers Credit Union, Special Assistant to the President at Saint Mary’s College, and Communications Director for the City of South Bend, where she worked closely with former Mayor Pete Buttigieg on issues involving economic development, public safety, and innovation in government services.

From 2001 to 2013, Kara served as Communications Director for the University of Notre Dame School of Architecture. Her responsibilities included planning and promoting the Richard H. Driehaus Prize, a $200,000 annual award to a preeminent classical architect, and writing, editing, and designing the School’s yearly publications.

Kara also developed and implemented national publicity campaigns for Sorin Books, a general-trade imprint of Ave Maria Press. She is a former assistant editor for U.S. Catholic magazine and a former reporter for the Hyde Park Herald in Chicago.

Active in the community, Kara serves on the South Bend-Elkhart Regional Partnership talent committee, Leadership South Bend-Mishawaka’s Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access (IDEA) committee, and on the advisory board of Celebrating Michiana Women Leaders.