Kristene Kelly begins her sixth year as Sports Information Director at Johnson C. Smith University. Kelly is no stranger to the university. She earned a bachelor's degree in sports management and a bachelor's degree in public relations from the university in 2000. Upon graduation, Kelly served as an adjunct instructor in the health and physical education department. While attending JCSU, she was an active part of the athletic department. In addition to serving as the sports information intern for four years, Kelly was also captain of the softball team and student trainer for the football team.

Before joining the Golden Bull family full time, Kelly worked at The University of Tennessee, where she served as the graduate assistant/academic counselor for the Lady Volunteer rowing and tennis teams. Her duties included determining initial and continuing eligibility of student-athletes, serving as a liaison between coaches and faculty, as well as monitoring student-athlete's academic progress toward a degree.

Kelly was awarded the John Holley Sports Information Director of the Year award (2005), becoming only the second female to receive that honor. In 2007, she graduated from the NCAA's Leadership Institute for Ethnic Minority Females. She was recently re-appointed as the Vice President of the CIAA-Sports Information Director's Association and serves on the publications committee for the College Sports Information Director's Association. She is a member of the CIAA-SIDA, NCCSIA, CoSIDA, BC-SIDA, and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

The St. Croix, V.I. native received her master's degree in human performance and sport studies from The University of Tennessee. She is married to Jonathan and together they have one son, Jonathan, Jr. (4).