Creative executive · Strategist · Filmmaker

Kelli Blake.

Programs, identities, and systems for culture.

I build programs, identities, and systems that cultural organizations can actually run. My work spans film festivals, nonprofits, media organizations, and cultural initiatives, with one through-line: leave it better, more functional, and more alive than I found it.

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Selected work

Case studies.

Events and partnerships · 2024

Black Public Media

$75K in sponsorships. Billions of media impressions. A 9,900% increase in Giving Tuesday donations. Built Black Public Media's events and partnership infrastructure from scratch across 8 months and 5 activations.

PR and nonprofit launch · 2021 to 2022

STEM Queens

7 million impressions in month one. National coverage in four weeks. Then turned a web series into a fully registered nonprofit: strategy, rebrand, and all.

Distribution · 2023

Toronto International Film Festival

Two weeks. Ten studios. One distribution offer, the first in the film's history. Research, outreach, and negotiation support for an African impact film at the world's largest public film festival.

Strategy · 2024 to 2026

Cleveland International Film Festival

Designed the architecture for a year-round film society at one of the country's most respected festivals, from program concept to network infrastructure.

Festival strategy · 2021 to 2022

Africa United

Festival strategy, brand identity, and strategic partnerships for an Ethiopian impact film at Sundance, built to survive a virtual pivot and an active civil conflict.

Community event · 2022

White Waters, Black Joy

100+ attendees. Unanimous five-star feedback. One elected volunteer, zero external budget. The SCAD Black Alumni Coalition's first in-person gathering: concept, panel, operations, and hosting.

Testimonials

In their words.

"Kelli is a strategic thinker and a back engineer. She doesn't bring fluff. She brings the thing itself."

Nnegest LikkéFilmmaker

"She has the uncanny ability to understand the unsaid and then clearly communicate the challenge and solution."

Jai StoneDigital Brand Strategist

"I so value your grounded energy and quiet leadership. You are a delight to work with."

Laura HennemanManager of Industry Relations, Sundance Film Festival

"Rarely do you come across someone so trustworthy. She was thorough and discreet."

Alexis HubshmanFounder and Owner, SCOPE Art Shows

"Her commitment to excellence and quality is praiseworthy and second to none."

Danny ShawPrincipal, 5 Line Designs, ESSENCE Festival 2016

"Kelli has an acute eye for aesthetics, the ability to communicate well on paper and verbally, and an exuberant and creative energy that is undeniable."

Ghana Odet WilsonAmerican Black Film Festival

Background

About.

For more than 20 years I've worked inside film, art, and culture: Sundance since 2012, more than a decade at American Black Film Festival, plus Essence Festival, Black Public Media, and Cleveland International Film Festival. I build artist programming, revenue strategy, and year-round plans, and I help independent films find their audiences and their buyers.

Colleagues say I understand what goes unsaid. I call it part skill, part something harder to name.

I'm also a filmmaker and an artist, and I write on Substack. I split my time between South Florida and the Caribbean.

EducationMFA in Creative Leadership, Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD)
BA in Marketing, Clark Atlanta University

CertificatesFilm and TV Industry Essentials, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, 2021
Public Relations, NYU
AI Mastery, Mindvalley, 2026

Worked withSundance Film Festival, TIFF, Cleveland International Film Festival, Black Public Media, American Black Film Festival, Essence Festival, SCOPE Art Shows

MemberDocumentary Producers Alliance

Projects, speaking, press

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