Mary Louise Kelly
Encyclopedia
Mary Louise Kelly is National Public Radio's senior Pentagon correspondent, reporting on defense and foreign policy issues. She took up that role in January 2009. As part of NPR's national security team, Kelly will cover the incoming Obama administration's approach to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. She also plans to focus on whether and how the U.S. will project its military power elsewhere in the world, how the U.S. will react to, and deal with, the emerging global military muscle of countries such as China, and the way in which U.S. foreign policy goals are often sought, and sometimes achieved, through defense and intelligence channels. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=2780701
Prior to her current assignment, Kelly launched NPR's intelligence beat. She reported on the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and other spy agencies, such as the Central Intelligence Agency
, Defence Intelligence Agency
, and the National Security Agency
.
, the CIA operative who was dropped in to Afghanistan in the aftermath of 9/11 with a six man team and a directive to bring back the head of Bin Laden. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4628438
in 1992, where she covered, among other things, Bill Clinton
's inauguration. http://www.thecrimson.com/writer.aspx?ID=5900 Upon graduating from Harvard, her first paying position was reporting on local politics for her home-town newspaper, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
and London
, she joined the Boston
team that launched radio news magazine The World, a joint venture between the BBC
and Public Radio International
. Two years later Kelly moved back to the UK, working as a host, foreign correspondent and senior producer for the BBC World Service, and as a producer at CNN
in London.
Kelly has earned her stripes at many locations around the world, with reports from the Afghan-Pakistan border, radical Hamburg mosques, Kosovo refugee camps, the deck of a nuclear aircraft carrier, and rural Cambodia. When at the BBC she also covered the peace talks that ended decades of violence in Northern Ireland.
. Before becoming NPR's intelligence correspondent in 2004, Kelly edited NPR's evening newsmagazine, All Things Considered, for three years. She was described as a "bad-ass babe" on the NPR website. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5353228&ft=1&f=5251026
. She completed her masters in European Studies at Cambridge University (Emmanuel College
) in England. She is married to Nicholas Boyle, an attorney with litigation firm Williams & Connolly
.
Prior to her current assignment, Kelly launched NPR's intelligence beat. She reported on the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and other spy agencies, such as the Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
, Defence Intelligence Agency
Defence Intelligence Agency
Defence Intelligence Agency, or variations on the name, may refer to agencies in several countries, including:*Defence Intelligence Group, Australia*Defence Intelligence Agency *Defence Intelligence Agency...
, and the National Security Agency
National Security Agency
The National Security Agency/Central Security Service is a cryptologic intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the collection and analysis of foreign communications and foreign signals intelligence, as well as protecting U.S...
.
Professional work
Kelly has broken numerous security and terrorism-related stories, including the CIA's secret decision to disband the unit aimed at hunting Osama Bin Laden. (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5529208). That story caused an uproar and led to the Senate voting on September 8, 2006 to reinstate the unit. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/07/AR2006090701113.html http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=politicsNews&storyID=2006-09-07T231323Z_01_N07275182_RTRUKOC_0_US-ARMS-CONGRESS.xml&archived=False Kelly was also the first reporter to interview Gary SchroenGary Schroen
Gary C. Schroen is a former Central Intelligence Agency field officer who was in charge of the initial CIA incursion into Afghanistan in September 2001 to topple the Taliban regime and to destroy Al Qaeda....
, the CIA operative who was dropped in to Afghanistan in the aftermath of 9/11 with a six man team and a directive to bring back the head of Bin Laden. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4628438
Career
Kelly's first foray into journalism was as a senior editor at the Harvard CrimsonHarvard Crimson
The Harvard Crimson are the athletic teams of Harvard University. The school's teams compete in NCAA Division I. As of 2006, there were 41 Division I intercollegiate varsity sports teams for women and men at Harvard, more than at any other NCAA Division I college in the country...
in 1992, where she covered, among other things, Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
's inauguration. http://www.thecrimson.com/writer.aspx?ID=5900 Upon graduating from Harvard, her first paying position was reporting on local politics for her home-town newspaper, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Overseas
After graduate school in Cambridge, England and internships at the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in ScotlandScotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, she joined the Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
team that launched radio news magazine The World, a joint venture between the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and Public Radio International
Public Radio International
Public Radio International is a Minneapolis-based American public radio organization, with locations in Boston, New York, London and Beijing. PRI's tagline is "Hear a different voice." PRI is a major public media content creator and also distributes programs from many sources...
. Two years later Kelly moved back to the UK, working as a host, foreign correspondent and senior producer for the BBC World Service, and as a producer at CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
in London.
Kelly has earned her stripes at many locations around the world, with reports from the Afghan-Pakistan border, radical Hamburg mosques, Kosovo refugee camps, the deck of a nuclear aircraft carrier, and rural Cambodia. When at the BBC she also covered the peace talks that ended decades of violence in Northern Ireland.
Domestic
She moved back to the United States to join NPR in WashingtonWashington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
. Before becoming NPR's intelligence correspondent in 2004, Kelly edited NPR's evening newsmagazine, All Things Considered, for three years. She was described as a "bad-ass babe" on the NPR website. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5353228&ft=1&f=5251026
Education and private life
Kelly has a degree in Government and French history and literature from Harvard UniversityHarvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. She completed her masters in European Studies at Cambridge University (Emmanuel College
Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay on the site of a Dominican friary...
) in England. She is married to Nicholas Boyle, an attorney with litigation firm Williams & Connolly
Williams & Connolly
Williams & Connolly LLP is a prominent litigation firm based in Washington, D.C. The firm was founded by trial lawyer Edward Bennett Williams, who left the partnership of D.C. firm Hogan & Hartson to launch his own litigation boutique....
.