About Kelsey Elizabeth Matthews

Kelsey Elizabeth Matthews is a 26-year-old first-generation college graduate, published author, advocate, coach, trainer, public speaker, non-profit program manager, and four-time pageant titleholder across Connecticut and Nevada. Kelsey is described as a tenacious advocate and passionate leader who serves her community with boldness, assertiveness, and eagerness to create change.

Born just three pounds and addicted to drugs, Kelsey was raised in East Haven, Connecticut. She moved to Las Vegas by herself at 18 years old to establish Nevada residency and put herself through college. She graduated Summa Cum Laude with her Bachelor of Social Work degree from her dream school, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. During her time as a student in the UNLV Honors College, she was among only 58 students nationwide to be awarded the highly prestigious Harry S. Truman Scholarship in 2022. She was selected out of 705 national applicants nominated from over 250 colleges and universities and represented Nevada and UNLV at Truman Scholar Leadership Week in Liberty, Missouri. She was also selected as just one of ten Outstanding Graduates in the Spring Class of 2023.

Kelsey remains connected to the UNLV community, serving in multiple capacities. Following her graduation, Kelsey was unanimously voted in as a Legacy Board Director for the Alumni Association and is currently serving her two-year elected term as the youngest standing board member. She has served on the Advocacy Committee and received a special appointment to the Board Development Committee by the Alumni Association President, where she assisted with board info sessions, reviewed applications, and interviewed and selected the new board members for 2024. Additionally, Kelsey is a current donor to the UNLV Honors College and UNLV Foundation/Division of Philanthropy and Alumni Engagement. She started the Phoenix Rising Honors Scholarship in memory of Honors College staff member Gerrie Cowden. Through this partnership, she aims to provide financial support and mentoring to Honors College students who have overcome adversity and display financial need, academic achievement, leadership potential, and a commitment to serving others. 

Kelsey’s involvement within the community has been described as extraordinary. Her love for service and passion for leadership started early—  she spent her teenage years immersed in the world of animal welfare, specifically focusing on cat rescue. She got her start in the non-profit sector in 2012 as a volunteer with Branford Compassion Club’s Feline Rescue and Adoption Center in North Branford, CT. By the time she was a junior in high school, she was leading teams of people as a direct-care shift supervisor, as well as serving as an adoption follow-up coordinator and adoption counselor. After moving to Las Vegas, she worked professionally as a rehabilitative mental health provider before going on to work in the non-profit sector, specializing in community engagement and program management. Her areas of focus have included mental health, suicide prevention, and substance abuse, advocating passionately to bring awareness to the drug and opioid crisis that took her mother’s life in 2016 when she was found dead during her senior year of high school. As a National Ambassador for Shatterproof, Kelsey has been actively involved with the Nevada Senate, assisting in passing Assembly Bill 374 and Senate Bill 390 in 2021. She also lobbied on Capitol Hill for federal legislation related to mental health in 2023. 

Kelsey has also dedicated thousands of hours to community service since 2012 for countless causes and organizations. In pageantry, she has served as Miss Shoreline’s Outstanding Teen 2015, Miss Battle Born 2019, Miss Las Vegas Volunteer 2021, and the first-ever Miss Nevada Volunteer 2022, representing the State of Nevada at the inaugural Miss Volunteer America Pageant in Jackson, Tennessee. Additionally, Kelsey was a licensed volunteer for Clark County Department of Family Services and Child Haven, sat on the Board of Directors for H.O.P.E Compassionate Healthcare and State Committee for the Nevada Recovery Advocacy Project, and was a member of the National Mobilize Recovery Conference. Also, in 2022, she was ordained as a chaplain through Chaplaincy Nevada and Message of Faith Ministry, where she served as a spiritual first responder with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and Rebuilding Every City Around Peace (RECAP). Kelsey thoroughly enjoyed her time as a chaplain until her resignation in 2024 after relocating back to Connecticut.

Additionally, Kelsey was appointed to the National Youth Council on College Mental Health and has spoken to students at numerous universities, including UNLV, Denver, and Maryland. She has appeared on national platforms, including Nevada Public Radio, Landmark Recovery Radio, and The Mary Christie Institute Quadcast, speaking on topics like substance abuse, mental health, and college affordability. She was also a co-author and contributor to the bestselling book “Grace Is: Compelling Parables from Las Vegas Chaplains” published by Chaplaincy Nevada in 2023. 

Kelsey has a heart for survivors of emotional and verbal abuse, especially at institutional levels. After being raised in a psychological war zone due to familial narcissistic abuse, she went on to experience similar cycles of abuse at the hands of professionals and institutions three separate times in her adulthood, sparking her interest in the phenomenon of Institutional/Organizational Narcissism. Through overcoming her own painful experiences, she has gone on to develop an advanced and in-depth understanding of ethics, abuse tactics, and power dynamics and how they present themselves, both relationally and professionally. This has since prompted her newfound passion for raising up healthy leaders and her desire to advocate for others who have been harmed at the hands of institutions they trusted. Kelsey is a TEDx speaker and presented her talk, “Servants First: How a Loving Approach to Leadership Can Change the World,” at TEDxUNLV 2024. This presentation was inspired by her article published on Medium, “A Call to Action for Institutional Leaders: When Did Abuse Become Normal and Integrity a Lost Virtue?”

By breaking her silence and sharing this part of her story publicly for the first time, she began her mission of bringing the corruption and systemic issues present within our institutions to light, helping other survivors heal and find their own voice, and challenging leaders of all kinds to view their respective roles through a lens of love and servant leadership. 

Following her TEDx talk, Kelsey relocated back to Connecticut to reunite with her family and friends and begin paving her way in the workforce as an entrepreneur. She is currently completing certification through the John Maxwell Leadership Program and is now the Founder and CEO of Phoenix Rising Coaching and Consulting, LLC.

In addition to launching a podcast, publishing books, and motivational speaking, Kelsey especially aspires to coach women who are recovering from trauma, abuse, and or neglect. She aims to help them master their mindsets and find beauty amidst their ashes as they regain their power and transform from victim to victor. In the future, Kelsey also plans to begin providing coaching, consulting, and training to leaders in all spheres of influence. She hopes to one day create her own leadership development program based on her TEDx talk, Servants First, which will focus specifically on training and education for helping professionals and institutional leaders. She also has a special place in her heart for college students and aims to make giving back to this population a lifelong part of her work. 

Kelsey plans to go on to obtain her Master of Social Work degree and aspires to pursue her Juris Doctorate at her dream law school, Yale University. She plans to study Public Interest law with an additional emphasis on personal injury, malpractice, discrimination, and dispute resolution. Kelsey hopes to go on to represent clients—especially those who are most vulnerable— who have been abused, exploited, or otherwise damaged, whether physically or psychologically, by negligent and unethical professionals and institutions. 

Kelsey’s story is one of courage, resilience, and faith—defying all odds and overcoming every obstacle with grace and unrelenting grit. If Kelsey could leave behind any legacy for herself, it would be one of strength, resilience, overcoming, and, most of all, love. It is her hope to create lasting change for generations to come.