I recently had lunch with Kelly O’Brien, who is the president and CEO of the recently-formed Aurora Regional Economic Alliance and Alliance Foundation.
Since the Alliance is fresh and new, I wanted to meet with O’Brien, who comes with more than two decades of economic development experience. Through conversation, we can learn about each other and our community, and I am interested in the health of our downtown.
Aurora Downtown is now dissolved and “the Aurora Regional Economic Alliance (The Alliance) will be supporting the critical work of the SSA One.” Aurora Regional Chamber of Commerce, Quad County African American Chamber of Commerce, and Invest Aurora consolidated to become the Alliance this past fall and became operational in January.
The Alliance now maintains Aurora Downtown’s social media pages and website, and is tasked with promoting First Fridays and other downtown events.
O’Brien grew up in Palos Hills, a southwest suburb of Chicago, where she later served on the city council. She attended Moraine Valley Community College, then transferred to The George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and received a law degree from Loyola University Chicago School of Law.
O’Brien moved back to the suburbs in 2011 to care for her ailing mother, and later served as the senior vice-president of economic development for the Chicagoland Chamber, leading the implementation and outreach of the Chicagoland Tri-State Metropolitan OECD through the creation of the Tri-State Alliance at the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce. O’Brien worked as an advisor to the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce Foundation for the Chicagoland Tri-State Metropolitan OECD review and prior to that she served as the public affairs director at the U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration (EDA).
O’Brien lights up when she talks about her time as president and CEO of the Alliance for Regional Development and executive director of the Chicago Central Area Committee (CCAC), when she was responsible for convening leaders from government, academia and the private sector to identify initiatives to move forward the Tri-State Chicago Metropolitan area.
In 2019, O’Brien lost in a race for Orland Park trustee as part of the Orland Integrity Party. She later left CCAC to accept an offer to serve as the chief advocacy and strategy officer at the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance (known as the CLT Alliance), an “economic engine” made up of 14 counties and two states. Accomplishing a surge of employment and economic growth, O’Brien once again moved back home to be with family after less than two years with CLT Alliance.
Meanwhile, she kept up with Richard Irvin, a long ago acquaintance introduced by a mutual friend. During a friendly lunch with Irvin to catch up on state politics sparked by a recent viewing of the film “Dumb Money,” the Game Stop story. O’Brien mentioned her economic development experiences, and later Irvin invited her to speak to city leaders about her efforts in Chicago and Charlotte.
O’Brien soon after became the president and CEO of Invest Aurora, and, with the consolidation, is now leading the Alliance and its foundation.
After talking with the individual organizations, O’Brien said she saw the “need for a collaboration.” With the organizations working together, the Alliance “will serve as a full-service economic development and business advocacy organization.”
An Alliance executive committee of 13 members meets monthly, and a board of directors with representatives from the organizations and businesses with an annual pledge of $10K or more meets quarterly. Membership fees for the Alliance vary.
The Alliance FAQ sheet states that the “consolidation represents a strategic move to create a more powerful and unified approach to economic development in the Aurora region.”
O’Brien brings a wealth of governmental experience with her (she worked for George W. Bush and Barbara Bush), and she knows how to create economic development alliances.
I enjoyed our lunch. I’m eager to see the team that she builds, and how they will take Aurora to the next level.
Add these art events to your 2025 calendar:
•April 15 World Art Day Workshop, Mutual Ground, Aurora
•May 10 World Collage Day Workshop, Water Street Studios, Batavia
•July 26 and 27 Geneva Arts Fair, Geneva.
•August 30 Alley Art Festival, Aurora. alleyartaurora.com.
Marissa Amoni is the owner of Marissa Bright, a public relations and event management company specializing in shining the light on nonprofits and small businesses. She runs Alley Art Festival, celebrating 15 years this year. Follow her on Instagram @marissashinesbright.