Kellie Mcmanamon is a first-year graduate student at the McCourt School of Public Policy. She was born and raised in Simi Valley, CA and graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2020 as a first-generation college student.

Kellie’s main research and policy focus during her undergraduate career was reproductive justice and gender equality; she was a research assistant specializing in women's movements and reproductive rights while working at the women's center on campus. During the pandemic, she co-founded a non-profit organization named Rise Simi Valley, that focuses on social justice and civic engagement.

Kellie served as a community organizer for a bilingual voter registration campaign and co-founded another organization, SimiServe, that focuses on Covid-19 relief efforts for the elderly and immunocompromised. As a graduate student, she is studying a wide variety of policy areas including housing, education, and urban development. In the future, Kellie hopes to continue grassroots organizing, draft legislation, and eventually run for office.