Karen Kelly serves as Chief of Staff to the Dean of the House, U.S. Rep. Harold “Hal” Rogers (KY-05). Chairman Rogers tapped Karen to lead his Washington and Kentucky operations in April 2024, however, their work together spans more than 25 years. Most notably, Karen Kelly cofounded the original National Rx and Illicit Drug Summit in 2012 with Congressman Rogers, while he was Chairman of the powerful U.S. House Appropriations Committee. The summit came to fruition while Karen was serving as President and CEO of Operation UNITE in Kentucky’s Appalachian region, the epicenter of the prescription drug abuse epidemic. Together, she and Chairman Rogers had the foresight to take UNITE’s multi-pronged approach, including law enforcement, treatment, and education, to the national stage, in effort to break down the barriers between industries battling the same crisis. The Rx Summit grew from 750 attendees to an average of more than 3,000 attendees, making it the largest gathering of its kind in the United States. Karen also served as Chairman Rogers’ District Director in Kentucky for nearly a decade, facilitating the execution of federal projects in his 33-county district, while managing operations with constituents, as well as state and local officials, and coordinating emergency disaster relief efforts during major disaster declarations. Outside of her work to combat the opioid epidemic, Karen also led a non-profit organization created by Congressman Rogers, focused on environmental education and cleanup, helping expand access to clean water and wastewater in Kentucky’s Appalachian region. She was named one of Kentucky’s 2023 Notable Women in Politics and Government by the Kentucky Gazette, after establishing Cornerstone Government Affairs’ new Kentucky office in 2022 with historic success, during a brief stint in the private sector. Karen and her husband, John, have three children and avidly support programs that uplift Kentucky’s Appalachian youth and disadvantaged families.