Kelly Spence is the assistant director of Public and Leadership Programs at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, where she runs the Women and Global Development Forum and Koldyke Fellowship. Prior to joining the Council, she worked at the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) traveling frequently to West Africa to support the private sector's efforts to advance market-oriented and democratic reforms. She also worked at the Office of Senator Feingold for the Africa Subcommittee, the International Crisis Group on Horn of Africa issues, the Brookings Institution, and the U.S. Embassy and USAID in Tanzania. She conducted research at Northwestern University's Program of African Studies and was a Girls Education and Empowerment Peace Corps Volunteer in Togo, West Africa. She speaks French and Mandarin. She holds a B.A. in Chinese and Anthropology from Bates College and a M.S. in Foreign Service from Georgetown University.