Schools in Western South Dakota are joining in a collaborative water study of this traditionally water poor area. The project web site is a rich source of connecting resources and information on this project. He worked construction for a living and volunteered or worked part time with outdoor youth programs for many years before entering the education field. Kelly keeps his hand in by building part time, but attention is more focused on his children, people and outdoor pursuits in recent years. He has lived all over the Western United States, but continues to return to the Black Hills area.
Degrees earned are in natural sciences, secondary education and middle school curriculum.
Kelly trained with the National Boy Scouts of America in their camping program and worked aquatics and program at scout camp and regional camp school in the early 1980's. He trained with Outward Bound after that and began teaching middle school science in 1983. He continues to work with young people as a parent, coach and teacher. He welcomes opportunities to network with other interested professionals and student groups.