Kelly Murray has served as Executive Director for the Illinois Association of County Board Members since 1997. She is a registered lobbyist and has served on several state boards and commissions that legislative Illinois policy.

Kelly has over two decades of experience in local government relations having also served as Executive Director for the Illinois Association of Regional Councils, Legislative Consultant for the Taxpayer's Federation of Illinois and editor of County to County magazine, working in collaboration with 12 local government state associations.

In 2006, Kelly established the Counties of Illinois Risk Management Agency (CIRMA), a protected self-insurance risk management program, that is exclusively owned and managed by Illinois counties. She is also a founder of the Institute for Excellence in County Governance in partnership with the University of Illinois and a contributing author of "Tomorrow's Leaders" civic curriculum aimed at teaching high school students about local government. In 2008, Kelly founded the Certified County Officials (CCO) program to provide professional education and training opportunities for county government officials. The CCO program is now a collaborative curriculum with the Illinois Association of County Officials (IACO). 

More recently, Kelly administered the Illinois Energy Now Public Sector program in partnership with the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), Ameren Illinois, ComEd, and NICOR providing incentives and rebates to local governments for completion of energy efficiency projects. In relation, she administered the Federal ARRA Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program through DCEO which allocated over $11 million in funding to 273 county projects throughout Illinois. The innovative, state-led approach to grant administration and delivery through local regional councils was viewed as a model for government officials nationwide.

Kelly holds over two decades of experience in communications and graphic design. She co-edited the APA award-winning publication Developing a Community Strategic Plan:  A Guide for Local Officials and was involved in the update and redesign of the Illinois Community Development Assistance Program (CDAP) Revolving Fund Handbook. Kelly also instituted the publication of llinois Courthouses: An Illustrated History and served as editor of Illinois County magazine.

Professional Affiliations
• Counties of Illinois Risk Management Agency (Executive Administrator)
• Illinois Complete Count Commission – Subcommittee on State/Local Government (Member)
• Illinois Terrorism Task Force Local Government Committee (Former Co-Chair)
• IDOT Human Service Transportation Plan Oversight Committee (Past Member)
• Illinois Local Food, Farms and Jobs Council - Governor Appointed (Past Member)
• Partnership for Local Government Education (Board of Directors)
• Rural Partners (Former Board Member)
• Illinois Farm Bureau (Member)
• Illinois Association of County Officials (Board of Directors Liaison)
• National Association of Development Organizations (RPO Council Member)
• National Association of Regional Councils (NARC)
• National Association of Counties (NACo)