Kelly Groehler – co-founder and CEO, Alice Riot

A fine art collector with an eye for pop, abstract and mixed-media works, Kelly is a strategist, founder and advocate who works at the intersections of technology, innovation and social impact. She’s an adviser to founders and C-level leadership teams at some of the world's largest brands and corporations.

Kelly co-founded Alice Riot with a clear purpose: to help women contemporary artists more strongly compete and find financial success through channels beyond the fine art world – which has historically and continues to place premiums on works by white male artists. She leads the Alice Riot team as it works to connect brands, designersand products with works by women artists, through licensing and commissions, in ways that bring their own consumer experiences, sales and social impact agendas to life.

Incredibly bullish on the potential of blockchain and the metaverse to level the playing field for women and BIPOC artists, Kelly and the team design and launch VR and NFT projects that bridge real-world and virtual-world fine art experiences, working with technology partners who share their purpose. She is also the creator and host of a new content series, WTAF: Women, Travel, Art, Food, launching in 2022.

Prior to Alice Riot, Kelly spent 22 years in reputation management, policy and advocacy, and sustainability communications with Best Buy, Berkshire Hathaway, and a number of supply chain technology firms.

Kelly is currently the president of the board of directors at the Goldstein Museum of Design, University of Minnesota – a design objects archive second only in the world to the Met – and is a member of The Impact Guild, whose mission is to connect, empower and activate people who use media, technology and pop culture for social good and healthy democracies. She’s a prolific writer, advocate and voice for equity and advancement of girls and women worldwide.