Kelli Schmitz is a program manager for international funds at the Center for Disaster Philanthropy. In this role, she supports strategic grantmaking and stewardship of CDP’s international disaster response, recovery funding and partnerships.
Before joining CDP in December 2024, Kelli worked for the State of Minnesota’s Resettlement Programs Office designing and implementing programs that support and foster the well-being and integration of newly-arrived refugees and asylum seekers into local communities.
She previously worked for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as a member of the Community-Based Protection team in Greece and Chad, supporting UNHCR’s efforts on the prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse, legal protection of refugees, and protection of women, children and other vulnerable groups in contexts of crisis and displacement.
Her other previous roles included managing Family Planning 2030’s work to advance access to voluntary, rights-based family planning in West and Central Africa and serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Benin as a Rural Community Health Specialist, where she also learned French.
She holds a master’s in public health from the Boston University School of Public Health with a concentration in global health and maternal and child health and a bachelor’s degree in international studies and history from Loyola University Chicago.
Kelli grew up in rural Iowa, where she gained firsthand disaster experience and developed a passion and deep respect for community-based work. She is now based in Minneapolis with her partner and young daughter. When not working, you can normally find her outside with her partner, daughter and dog.