CEO
Brief info
Taiisa Kelly joined Monarch Housing Associates in March of 2006. She has experience in housing development working with federal, state and local funding sources to secure financing for special needs housing projects.
In October of 2007, Taiisa joined the Homelessness Planning Team where she works with local governments, nonprofits and community stakeholders to develop coordinated strategies to end homelessness.
On January 1, 2019, she was appointed as CEO.
Mrs. Kelly is a dedicated advocate for social justice who has assisted Monarch in expanding services to include strategic planning, grant writing, system oversight, project monitoring, grant administration, innovative program development, and data analysis. Since becoming CEO in 2019, Ms. Kelly has worked to expand and innovate the housing development focus of the agency. Monarch is developing new partnerships to support the creation of housing for marginalized communities with an eye towards innovations in development. Under Ms. Kelly’s leadership Monarch is focused on integrating racial equity into all aspects of homeless planning and housing development with the intent of ending homelessness in New Jersey.
Ms. Kelly was inducted into the NJ Housing and Economic Development Hall of Fame in 2023, and was named as one of the 2021 Best 50 Women in Business by NJBIZ Magazine. Mrs. Kelly serves on the Boards of Directors for Nourish.NJ and for the Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey (HCDNNJ). She is a Member of United Black Agenda Committee and of the Enterprise Community Leadership Council and Enterprise Community Loan Fund Board, as well as a Commissioner on the Newark Commission on Homelessness. She additionally serves on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation JEGNA Council, the New Jersey State of Affordable Housing (NJSOARH) Advisory Committee and as advisor on a number of other Boards and Councils.
Mrs. Kelly received her B.A. in psychology and anthropology from Rutgers University.