About Me

Tara Kelly works as a consultant to a variety of education-related non-profit organizations. Her clients have included charter schools (including leading or consulting in the founding of new schools), after-school programs for at-risk youth, a children’s museum and more. She has worked extensively with clients’ Boards and lead staff in strategic planning, charter petition writing, board development, business plan development, website content, evaluation and assessment, community outreach, staff and volunteer recruiting and management, annual reports and more. She has generated more than $15 million in government, foundation and corporate grant funding for her clients in the past few years. 

From 1995-2003, Tara was an associate in the acclaimed employment law department of Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP where she handled all aspects of litigation and client counseling for a diverse roster of small and large employers. Prior to law school, Tara served as National Grants Manager of United Cerebral Palsy Associations in Washington, D.C., where she managed more than $2.4 million annually in federal grants. Tara has served on several boards, including the Children Affected by AIDS Foundation and the Founding Board of the Larchmont Charter Schools.  She currently serves as Chair of the Board of Project Goodness, a Pepsi Refresh Grant recipient that leads 10 week courses in public elementary schools, teaching children about philanthropy and why people volunteer and then guiding them as they create and implement their own service-learning projects.  Tara has participated in extensive volunteer work – she was awarded “Volunteer of the Year” by Public Counsel’s Child Care Law Project.

She holds a B.A. in Child Study (with a Massachusetts lifetime K-3 teacher certification) from Tufts University and a J.D. from the University of Southern California; at both schools she was elected co-President of her class. At USC, Tara’s published Note as a member of the Southern California Law Review won the annual Warren J. Ferguson Social Justice Writing Award; she also served as Managing Editor of the Southern California Review of Law and Women’s Studies. Tara lives in Los Angeles with her husband, twin daughters and a 20 pound cat.