Shoshanna Kelly has built two careers simultaneously, and both of them are rooted in persuasion. As the owner and executive creative director of Kelly Creative Advertising, she crafts campaigns for clients. As an alderwoman at-large in Nashua, New Hampshire, she makes the case for affordable housing, public education funding, and local climate policy to colleagues who don’t always agree. She was the first woman of color elected to Nashua’s Board of Aldermen when she won her seat in 2017, was re-elected in 2022, and is now running for New Hampshire’s Executive Council — a bid that would extend her influence from municipal governance to the state level.
The dual identity — advertising executive and elected official — is not as contradictory as it might appear. Both roles require understanding what audiences need to hear, when they need to hear it, and how to frame a message that moves people from indifference to action. Kelly has been doing that work professionally for decades. That she chose to apply those skills to local government, in a state where local government carries unusual weight, says something about both her ambitions and her diagnosis of where change actually happens.
From the Lakes Region to Boston’s ad agencies
Kelly grew up in New Hampshire’s Lakes Region, first in Meredith and then in Moultonborough, where she graduated from Moultonborough Academy. The Lakes Region is one of the state’s most scenic areas and also one of its most economically seasonal, with tourism driving much of the local economy. Growing up there gave Kelly an early education in the rhythms of small-town New Hampshire life — the community closeness, the self-reliance, and the awareness that opportunities often require leaving.
She left for Boston University, where she earned a BS in Communication with a concentration in advertising. From there, she entered the Boston advertising industry and built a career at some of the city’s most prominent agencies. Her resume includes positions at VIA, Mullen, Digitas, and Hill Holliday — agencies that handle major national accounts and operate at the highest level of the industry. Working at firms of that caliber gave Kelly both creative skills and a strategic discipline that she would later apply to building her own agency.
The decision to leave the agency world came after she and her husband David — a rocket scientist, a detail that she has shared publicly and that adds a certain specificity to the household’s professional range — moved to Nashua in 2005. The move brought Kelly back to New Hampshire and set the stage for the next phase of her career.
Kelly Creative Advertising
Rather than seek a position at a New Hampshire agency, Kelly launched her own firm, Kelly Creative Advertising. Running a creative agency is an exercise in sustained problem-solving: every client has a different market, a different audience, a different competitive landscape, and a different budget. The skills Kelly developed at major Boston agencies — strategic thinking, creative execution, client management, and the ability to translate business objectives into compelling communication — became the foundation of her practice.
Kelly Creative operates in a market where small and mid-sized agencies compete on relationships and results rather than scale. New Hampshire’s business community is small enough that reputation travels quickly in both directions. The fact that Kelly has sustained the agency while simultaneously holding public office speaks to both her work ethic and the organizational capacity required to manage two demanding roles without either one suffering.
Breaking a barrier in Nashua politics
Kelly’s entry into politics came in 2017 when she ran for alderman at-large in Nashua. Her election made her the first woman of color to serve on the city’s Board of Aldermen — a milestone in a city that, as of the 2020 census, is approximately 78 percent white. Nashua is New Hampshire’s second-largest city with a population of roughly 91,000, and its city government carries significant responsibility for services, budgets, and development decisions that directly affect residents’ daily lives.
The milestone was not something Kelly treated as an end point. She ran on substantive policy positions rather than identity, and her subsequent work on the board has reflected that approach. But the fact of being first in a role carries its own significance, particularly in a state where political leadership has historically reflected a narrow demographic range. Kelly’s presence on the board expanded the visible range of who participates in Nashua’s governance.
She was re-elected in 2022, a result that confirmed her support extended beyond the novelty of a first-time candidacy. Re-election in municipal politics is earned through constituent service, visible engagement, and a track record of showing up for the unglamorous work of local government — budget hearings, zoning disputes, infrastructure debates — that most residents never see.
Policy priorities and community work
Kelly’s legislative work in Nashua has centered on several policy areas where her positions are specific and sustained rather than performative.
She has been a primary sponsor of the city’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund, an initiative aimed at addressing the housing shortage that affects Nashua and much of southern New Hampshire. The region’s proximity to the Boston job market has driven housing demand that far outpaces supply, pushing costs to levels that strain working families and make it difficult for employers to attract workers. The trust fund is a mechanism for directing resources toward housing production and preservation, and Kelly’s sponsorship of it reflects a practical approach to a problem that resists easy solutions.
She is a vocal supporter of public education funding, a perennial issue in New Hampshire where the state’s property-tax-based funding model creates significant disparities between wealthy and less wealthy communities. Kelly has argued for increased investment in Nashua’s schools and for policy approaches that ensure educational quality does not depend on a student’s zip code.
On climate and environmental policy, Kelly has pushed for action at the local level, a position that puts her in the pragmatic camp of elected officials who believe municipal government can make meaningful progress on environmental issues regardless of what happens at the state or federal level.
Beyond the Board of Aldermen, Kelly started Nashua’s Pride Festival, an initiative that created a visible celebration of the LGBTQ+ community in a city that had not previously had one. She also serves on the board of the Nashua Soup Kitchen and Shelter, an organization that provides direct services to the city’s most vulnerable residents, and Peacock Players, a community theater organization.
The Executive Council campaign
Kelly’s candidacy for the New Hampshire Executive Council represents a significant escalation of her political ambitions. The Executive Council is a five-member body, unique to New Hampshire, that exercises substantial power including approval of state contracts, judicial nominations, and certain gubernatorial appointments. It is a role with statewide implications and a level of visibility that municipal office does not provide.
The campaign builds on Kelly’s track record in Nashua but requires a fundamentally different kind of political operation. Executive Council districts are large, the electorate is more ideologically diverse than a single city, and the issues are broader in scope. Kelly’s experience running a creative agency — with its emphasis on messaging, audience segmentation, and strategic communication — is directly applicable to the demands of a statewide campaign.
Whether she wins or not, the candidacy itself extends the trajectory she established in 2017: a woman of color competing for progressively higher office in a state where that remains unusual, running on policy substance rather than symbolism, and drawing on a professional background that most candidates do not share.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Shoshanna Kelly?
Shoshanna Kelly is an alderwoman at-large in Nashua, New Hampshire, and the owner and executive creative director of Kelly Creative Advertising. She was the first woman of color elected to Nashua’s Board of Aldermen in 2017, was re-elected in 2022, and is currently a candidate for the New Hampshire Executive Council.
What are Shoshanna Kelly’s main policy priorities?
Kelly’s primary policy focus areas include affordable housing, where she has been a main sponsor of the Affordable Housing Trust Fund; public education funding; and local climate and environmental action. She also started Nashua’s Pride Festival and serves on the boards of the Nashua Soup Kitchen and Shelter and Peacock Players.
What is Shoshanna Kelly’s professional background?
Kelly holds a BS in Communication from Boston University and built her advertising career at major Boston agencies including VIA, Mullen, Digitas, and Hill Holliday. She founded Kelly Creative Advertising after moving to Nashua in 2005 with her husband David. She grew up in New Hampshire’s Lakes Region and graduated from Moultonborough Academy.
What is the New Hampshire Executive Council?
The New Hampshire Executive Council is a five-member elected body unique to New Hampshire that holds significant power including approval of state contracts, judicial nominations, and certain gubernatorial appointments. Shoshanna Kelly is running for a seat on the council, which would move her from municipal to state-level governance.
For related coverage, see our reporting on How Nenia Ballard Turned Long COVID and a Lost Career Into a Platform for Adv….
