REPORT FOR THE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS
UNITED STATES SENATE
SUBJECT: Ambassadorial Nomination: Certificate of Demonstrated Competence — Foreign Service Act, Section 304(a)(4)
POST: Canada
CANDIDATE: Kelly Craft
Kelly Craft is a leader in civic engagement in Kentucky and also a successful businesswoman who is actively engaged in support of the Republican Party at the state and national levels. While raising two children, Mrs. Craft not only ran her own marketing and management consulting firm, Kelly G. Knight LLC, but also found the time to make community engagement a focus of her personal endeavors. She has served in leadership roles with numerous civic organizations, including the Salvation Army of Lexington and the Center for Rural Development, a nonprofit dedicated to economic development in rural Kentucky. Mrs. Craft also has a deep commitment to improving education, serving on the University of Kentucky Board of Trustees and co-founding the Morehead State University Craft Academy for Excellence in Science and Mathematics. Her demonstrated leadership skills in civic matters, her management experience and business acumen, and her deep understanding of critical social and political issues, make Mrs. Craft well qualified to serve as the United States Ambassador to Canada.
Mrs. Craft has previously served in a variety of roles in the political context, including as an Executive Committee Member of the Republican Governors Association (2015-Present) and as the Kentucky Finance Chair (2005-Present) and National Finance Vice Chair (2015-2016) of the Republican National Committee. In 2007, under President George W. Bush, Mrs. Craft also served in a significant public policy position as the U.S. alternate delegate to the United Nations General Assembly. In a civic engagement capacity, she has also been a Member of the Board for the Kentucky Arts Council, the YMCA of Central Kentucky, and the United Way of the Bluegrass.
Mrs. Craft received her B.A. from the University of Kentucky. She was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Morehead State University in May 2017.