Kelly Jin is chief of staff to the president and CEO and vice president for AI and Insights at Knight Foundation.

In this role, she serves as a senior advisor to the president, helping to align organizational strategy, lead high-priority initiatives and strengthen collaboration across teams. She oversees the operations of the President’s Office and directs Knight’s government affairs and policy efforts.

As VP for AI and Insights, Jin leads Knight’s transformation into a more data- and AI-enabled organization. She is building the systems and practices needed to integrate data analytics, institutional knowledge and responsible AI use into the foundation’s strategy and operations—aimed at increasing impact and better supporting Knight’s grantees and partners.

From 2021 to 2025, Jin led Knight’s Community and National Initiatives program, managing a $250 million portfolio nationally and across 26 Knight communities. Her leadership advanced major civic investments across the country—from university expansions to signature parks, greenways and innovative approaches to affordable housing—while sharpening Knight’s place-based strategies to improve economic mobility and community resilience.

Before Knight, Jin served as chief analytics officer for the City of New York, where she launched the NYC Recovery Data Partnership in response to COVID-19 and co-chaired the city’s Algorithms Task Force. She also held roles in the White House Domestic Policy Council & Office of Science and Technology Policy, the Laura and John Arnold Foundation, and Boston City Hall, where she co-led the city’s analytics team.

Her work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, the Economist, Wired and PBS NewsHour. She holds a degree in economics from the University of Pennsylvania and serves as a trustee of the Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science.