Since 2001, Kelly H. Carnes has served as the president and chief executive officer of TechVision21. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., TechVision21 is a high-end technology strategy development and consulting firm. Ms. Carnes is a nationally acclaimed technology policy expert, and in her position as a technology firm executive, she maintains responsibility for organizing innovation-related initiatives and projects, securing funding to support project efforts, leading national campaigns, engaging policymakers and other pertinent decision-makers, and spearheading strategic planning. Notably, Ms. Carnes possesses expertise in diverse subject areas, such as in the fields of technology, business, law, energy, and government.
Prior to her current appointment, Ms. Carnes served as the assistant secretary of commerce and technology policy, confirmed by the United States Senate. In this position, she took the helm of federal programs to promote research and development, technology, clean energy, telecommunications, and workforce development in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics sectors. Likewise, Ms. Carnes was an attorney for a national law firm for several years, through which she pioneered efforts in restructuring and negotiating more than $1 billion in technology business transactions. In preparation for her career, she attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, receiving a Bachelor of Arts. Subsequently, she graduated magna cum laude from the Georgetown University Law Center with a Doctor of Jurisprudence in 1985, having spent time as a topics editor for the Georgetown Law Journal.
During her career, Ms. Carnes has been a staunch advocate of women’s and minority rights, particularly as they apply to the American workforce. A frequent public speaker in her field, she has addressed technology and business, having expressed sentiments on e-commerce regulation and securities litigation reform. Through these efforts, Ms. Carnes established the GetTech campaign, a national public awareness and information campaign that endeavors to inspire high school students to consider future careers in the technology industry.
As an extension of her career, Ms. Carnes has also served as a keynote speaker at professional business and technology conferences across the nation and internationally. Moreover, she has served on boards and commissions, including the U. S. Comptroller General Advisory Board, the senior advisory group for the Director of National Intelligence, and the steering committee for the Commission on the Advancement of Women and Minorities in Science, Engineering, and Technology. Impressively, she previously served as an advisor for the Center for Strategic and International Studies and sat on the National Governors Association Commission on Technology and Adult Learning. She also maintains an active affiliation with the National Defense Industrial Association in her spare time.
To commemorate her accomplishments, Ms. Carnes has been honored on multiple occasions. Quoted extensively in such prominent publications as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and USA Today, among others, she was also selected for inclusion on CNN.com and BusinessWeek.com. Likewise, she was featured on radio and television programs, most notably as a guest on “Talk of the Nation” on National Public Radio. In her own scholarly efforts, Ms. Carnes has written for The Economist and the Washington Business Journal. She recently published a book, titled “Next Generation Innovation,” in 2023.
As a testament to her success, Ms. Carnes was honored among the 10 Female Trailblazers to Follow in 2022. In addition, TechVision21 was named among the 50 Leading Companies of the Year by the Silicon Review and among the Top Innovative Brands by CEO Views in 2022. In 2021, she was highlighted among the Top 20 Most Successful Women Leaders by Corporate Magazine. Most recently, she earned the Outstanding Leadership Award in Technology from Internet 2.0 in 2023.
Looking forward, Ms. Carnes expects to continue working with companies that have made groundbreaking innovations, bringing their projects and findings to fruition. She would also like to continue commercializing and manufacturing revolutionary ideas across the United States and, eventually, the world.