Kelly Kirkendoll, Founder & CEO
Kelly Kirkendoll, Founder and CEO of Thrive PR, is an award-winning communications, public relations and marketing expert with 30 years of experience. Her career started in corporate marketing at a Fortune 500 company, and then she spent 6 years as the Director of PR/Marketing/Investor Relations for a start-up company, where she was on the core IPO team that took the company public. In 2003, she founded Thrive PR, where she and her team work with business executives and nonprofit leaders across a broad range of industries.
Kelly specializes in crafting effective strategies and telling clients’ stories in ways that help them expand their reach, attract the right audiences and grow. During her career, she has worked with leaders from a variety of industries, including: healthcare, nonprofits, associations, the arts, restaurants, construction, travel, professional services, retail, beauty, sports, telecommunications, franchises and banking. Her experience spans virtually every facet of PR and marketing, including strategy, branding, media relations, marketing communications, social media, internal communications, influencer relations, digital marketing, advertising, copywriting, design, video project management, product marketing, competitive analysis, pricing analysis and more. She and her team use this experience to provide integrated and strategic communications services that make a meaningful impact for each B2B, B2C, nonprofit or association client they serve.
One of Kelly’s specialties is media relations, and her PR credentials include gaining media coverage for her clients by CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Fortune magazine, Dallas Morning News, Good Morning Texas, BusinessWeek, Chicago Tribune and more. In the past, she has also worked as a regular contributing writer to two magazines, and earlier in her career, she was included in the National Directory of Editors and Writers, featuring America’s top editors and writers for hire. Today, Kelly is sought after for her trusted business advisory acumen, communications expertise and right-sized solution approach to delivering value for clients.
Kelly received her BBA in Marketing from Ohio University, summa cum laude, speaks to local and national organizations and is a founding board member for the nonprofit organization Cuisine for Healing. She has called Dallas/Fort Worth home for the past 25 years and enjoys food photography, dancing, being highly caffeinated and the daily escapades of Cocoa the office cat, who insists on attending most Zoom meetings.
