Kelly Kavanaugh

Kelly Kavanaugh is a vice president and chief strategy officer in charge of marketing, communications, strategic planning and value improvement at Dayton Children’s. Kavanaugh started at Dayton Children’s in 2010 as the director of the hospital’s nationally-recognized marketing and communications program. In that time, she developed the materials to communicate Destination 2020, Dayton Children’s Hospital’s strategic road map for the future. She has been instrumental in communicating key components of that plan, some of which include a $162 million dollar campus renewal and the building of a brand new eight-story patient care tower as well as partnerships that advance care of the children in our region, such as the Ohio Pediatric Care Alliance, a joint venture with Nationwide Children’s to increase access to specialized care. Since becoming vice president, Kavanaugh became instrumental in leading the efforts to change a 42-year-old logo and brand for the hospital. She also leads many departments and service lines in strategic planning and business development efforts.

Prior to joining Dayton Children’s, Kelly was a vice president at Reynolds and Reynolds and has more than 30 years of experience in strategic planning; strategic marketing management with expertise in brand management, market segmentation and positioning; customer relationship management; organizational development; and communication planning and management. She also owned The Kavanaugh Group, a marketing management services company providing strategic marketing and interim marketing management services.

She has a bachelor's of arts from The Ohio State University and received her master’s in business administration (MBA) from Wright State University. In 2014, Kelly was named the "Communicator of the Year" by the Public Relations Society of America, Dayton Chapter.