Oak Park has found a new leader for its Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
Months after the resignation of Danielle Walker, the first person to ever hold the position, Oak Park has named Kellye Keyes as its new Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer. Keyes, an Oak Parker and a licensed attorney with decades of public sector leadership experience, will head up Oak Park’s DEI efforts including “the development and implementation of the village’s first-ever Racial Equity Action Plan,” the village said in a press release.
Her first day with the village is set for June 23.
“As someone who calls Oak Park home, I’m truly honored to step into this role and build on the important work already underway,” said Keyes. “I care deeply about this community and believe in the power of equity to drive change. I look forward to listening, learning, and working together with village leadership, residents, and business owners to ensure that equity and inclusion are not just values we uphold, but practices we embed across every aspect of our village operations.”
Keyes previously served as the first ever chairperson and executive director of the Illinois Commission on Equity and Inclusion, where she was appointed by Gov. JB Pritzker to launch and lead a new state agency tasked with dismantling systemic barriers to equity in public contracting and hiring, according to the village.
She held that post from January 2022 to June 2023, according to her LinkedIn profile.
Keyes has also held senior leadership roles with the State of Illinois Executive Ethics Commission, the Chief Judge’s Office of the Circuit Court of Cook County and the Chicago Housing Authority, where she led multimillion-dollar budgets, directed compliance and planning departments and helped establish the Restorative Justice Community Court of the Circuit Court of Cook County, according to the village.
“We are thrilled to welcome Kellye to Oak Park,” said Village Manager Kevin Jackson. “Her extraordinary combination of legal expertise, public sector leadership and demonstrated commitment to advancing equity makes her uniquely qualified to lead this work here in Oak Park. She is the right leader at the right time to help us continue to build a more inclusive community.”
Keyes holds a law degree from American University and an undergraduate degree from Emory University. She is licensed to practice law in Illinois, she is a trained Restorative Justice Practitioner and holds a Project Management Certification from Loyola University Chicago, according to the village.
Keyes’ predecessor Walker resigned after two years as the village’s DEI chief. Her projects in the role included leading cultural competency training sessions for the village board, sponsoring and promoting Oak Park’s Juneteenth celebration and helping the village create a racial equity assessment, although that report has not been released and the Engage Oak Park page associated with the project hasn’t been updated since December 2023.
In the role, Keyes will also work as the village’s “human rights ordinance administrator” and as the staff liaison to several citizen commissions, according to the village.