Hailing from a small town in Eastern Washington, Kelsey's career began as a cinematographer and camera assistant, building a strong foundation for visual storytelling before transitioning into directing.

Her breakthrough sci-fi short, ALIEN: SPECIMEN, was created through an initiative with 20th Century and expands upon Ridley Scott’s seminal classic. 

Drawn to stories of imbalanced power dynamics, Kelsey's feature film, TO KILL A WOLF, which she wrote, directed and produced, is a modern reimagining of Little Red Riding Hood told through the lens of sexual grooming. The film premiered at the Edinburgh Film Festival in 2024 and after a limited theatrical release in 2025, maintains a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

As a DGA commercial director, Kelsey has worked with brands like Volkswagen, Walmart, Verizon.  She was tapped by Southwest Airlines to direct their first branded short film, ALONE IN TOMBSTONE, a coming-of-age Western, further proving her chameleon-like ability to work in any genre, from comedy to dark world building.

Drawn to stories that live in the gray, Kelsey’s writing has placed her as both a semifinalist and quarterfinalist in the Academy Nicholl Fellowship Screenwriting Competition.

She was a 2024 Film Independent Episodic Directing Fellow and a 2026 mentee in the DGA’s Director Development Initiative.

Kelsey is managed by Bellevue and commercially by Eleanor, the only Black and woman-owned production company in the US, and recently crowned “The 2024 Production Company to Watch” by AdAge.