Kelly Pond
President & CEO
Special Olympics Southern California
It’s extraordinary to have someone like Kelly as SOSC’s leader given her historical in-depth knowledge of Special Olympics, as well as her passion for our movement and athletes.
Kelly has 20 years of experience with Special Olympics in a variety of key positions with escalating levels of responsibility. Her expertise in development, leadership of Marketing and Communications, success with attracting and building relationships with corporate sponsorships, and managing profitable special events are invaluable to our organization. In her prior role as Executive Vice President/Chief Operating Officer of SOSC, Kelly managed over 80% of the organization, including Development, Communications, Sports and Programing, Field Operations, Unified Sports, Volunteer Engagement, and Health and Wellness.
In addition, Kelly has built strong relationships with Special Olympics North America and Special Olympics International, and is well respected for her leadership, and willingness to share best practices. Kelly has collaborated on numerous projects and participated in peer-to-peer mentorships with other U.S. Programs. Leadership roles she served on included:
- Served on the Resource Development Committee and co-led the Corporate Advisory Committee for Special Olympics North America
- Led the Development Committee for US Business Meeting
- Represented SOI at World Games in Greece to support Mattel partnership
Kelly’s recent work with City of Hope, a nationwide organization, broadened her perspective on how non-profits operate and fundraise. Her experience as Executive Director of Donor Experience and Enterprise Leadership Deployment will provide valuable insight to help us build a strategic development model to fund our movement’s planned growth to enable us to serve more athletes.
Kelly shares, “I believe everyone should be seen and celebrated for their unique gifts, abilities, and for what they can do; and that is exactly what Special Olympics does. Over the 20 years that I had the honor to serve SOSC, I’ve seen firsthand how we transform lives through the power of sports. It is a great privilege to lead and support this team and partner with our athletes, staff, volunteer leaders, sponsors, and donors to build the SOSC of the future together.”