Kelly Shannon McNeill

As a Southern California native who learned to swim almost before she could walk and an all-around earth lover, Kelly is deeply invested in preserving our precious habitats, recreation areas and supporting LA’s path to a more sustainable future. Given rising concerns and increased public awareness about climate change, Los Angeles has an unprecedented opportunity to incite collective action and philanthropic investment in initiatives that address our most pressing environmental and water resource challenges. She believes in the power of communities to create the systems change we need, and is proud to support LA Waterkeeper in its mission. 

Kelly comes to LA Waterkeeper with more than 10 years of experience building partnerships that put people and our planet on the path towards success. Starting her career with the Renewable Energy Foundation in London, she then moved into Private Equity where she discovered her passion for aligning shareholder interests with social impact. With this new outlook, Kelly set out to leverage the resources and expertise of the private sector to increase the efficacy of “for-good” organizations. Since 2014 she’s led fundraising and strategic partnerships for domestic and international nonprofits and social enterprises.  

Kelly was a fellow of the Moving Worlds Institute in 2017 where she learned to apply Human Centered Design in a global development context while working in East Africa. She has since worked as a philanthropy consultant to corporations and high-profile individuals, helped build multi-stakeholder initiatives in collaboration with UN Habitat, and served as a strategy advisor to social entrepreneurs. Kelly holds a BA in International Relations – Economic Development from University of California – San Diego.  

In her free time you can find Kelly balancing her passion for a resilient future with life as a new parent, and trying to find time for her favorite hobbies: yoga, hiking, and skiing.