Expert Guest Speaker

Kelli Williams Gary, Ph.D., MPH, OTR/L is an assistant professor in the department of rehabilitation counseling at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in Richmond, VA.

Twenty-eight years ago, her dreams of becoming a commissioned officer in U.S. Army while at Florida A & M University were dashed when she sustained a severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) from a major car accident, which resulted in a coma for over two weeks and a hospital stay for nearly five months with extensive physical and cognitive injuries. After her injury, she returned to school and obtained a Bachelor of Science in OT from Chicago State University in Chicago, IL, a Master of Science and Master of Public Health from Columbia University in New York, NY, and Ph.D. from VCU all while having residual cognitive and emotional deficits.

She has 24 years of clinical practice,11 years of research, and eight years of teaching experience in OT and rehab counseling. She is a member of the leadership team for the Culture, Race, and Health Core in the VCU Institute on Inclusion, Inquiry, and Innovation. Dr. Gary has authored/coauthored more than 24 peer-reviewed journal articles and three book chapters primarily focused on racial and ethnic minorities and caregivers with TBI and other disabilities. She has written grants and secured nearly funding to develop an after-school program in Petersburg, VA, develop her research in TBI and health disparities, and to pay off her student loans.

She was recently selected as the president of the board of directors for the Brain Injury Association of Virginia (BIAV), volunteers for the conference planning committee, and co-facilitated a brain injury support group for over 10 years.

Additionally, she is on a national committee for Veterans with special disabilities that reports directly to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs in Washington, DC.

Just recently, she became nationally certified as a brain injury specialist and has been invited as a keynote speaker around the nation and internationally in Puerto Rico, Texas, Toronto, Canada and Johannesburg, South Africa to present on her research on brain injury and about her experience of living with a TBI and relying on education and training to become successful and productive. She is proud to be a life member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

As a recent widow of her dearly beloved husband Frank Gary, a decorated retired navy war veteran, she has begun speaking about overcoming painful, insurmountable odds by being resilient, generating positive energy, and living a fulfilling life. She is advancing her body of work towards helping individuals avoid, overcome, and understand adverse childhood experiences.