Matt Kelley is a mixed-race Korean American

Korean American

Korean Americans are Americans of Korean descent, mostly from South Korea, with a small minority from North Korea...

 writer, public speaker and consultant born in Spokane, Washington

Spokane, Washington

Spokane is a city located in the Northwestern United States in the state of Washington. It is the largest city of Spokane County of which it is also the county seat, and the metropolitan center of the Inland Northwest region...

 and living in Seoul, South Korea.

He is the co-editor of the Multiracial Child Resource Book: Living Complex Identities (2003) with Maria P. P. Root

Maria P. P. Root

Maria P. P. Root, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist, educator, and public speaker based in Seattle, Washington. Her areas of work include multiracial families, multiracial identity, cultural competence, trauma, work place harassment, and disordered eating...

 and is producer of the documentary film, Chasing Daybreak: A Film About Mixed Race in America (2006), which features U.S. President Barack Obama

Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

.

In 1998, as a 19-year-old, first-year student at Wesleyan University

Wesleyan University

Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...

, Kelley created MAVIN magazine, one of the first print publications about racially mixed people. In 2000, he founded the Seattle, Washington

Seattle, Washington

Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...

-based Mavin Foundation

Mavin Foundation

Mavin Foundation is a community organization which seeks to build “healthy communities that celebrate and empower mixed heritage people and families.” Located in Seattle, WA, Mavin has been recognized nationally for its work toward a society inclusive of those in the mixed heritage community...

, a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization whose mission is to build “healthy communities that celebrate and empower mixed heritage people and families". Under his direction the organization created projects including the award-winning MatchMaker Bone Marrow Project, the Mixed Heritage Center and the Generation MIX National Awareness Tour. He left the organization in 2006 but continues to serve on its Board of Advisors.

Kelley is recognized as a spokesperson for multiracial Americans. He frequently appears in media and has received several awards, including being named a "Point of Light" by President George W. Bush. In 2004, as vice president of the Association of MultiEthnic Americans

Association of MultiEthnic Americans

The Association of MultiEthnic Americans is an international collaboration of community organizations. With dedication to advocacy and education on behalf of the mixed-race community, AMEA works to promote a community of acceptance and equality....

, he was the multiracial representative on the U.S. Department of Commerce's Decennial Census Advisory Committee. In 2005 he presented testimony to Congress about mixed-race health concerns.

Kelley has volunteered with several organizations that work with youth, Asian American, African American and lesbian and gay issues.

General

• Official website
• Notable Wesleyan University alumni
• MAVIN Foundation (Official website)

Published Work

• From 50 to 1,500: Korea Queer Culture Festival turns 10 by Matt Kelley Fridae.com. June 16, 2009
• South Korea's legal trans-formation by Matt Kelley and Mike Lee Fridae.com. May 29, 2009
• Beauty vs. Brawn by Matt Kelley and Uikwon Lee Theme Magazine
  Theme magazine
  Theme is a quarterly lifestyle magazine that focuses on contemporary creative culture. In collaboration with a guest curator, the publishers collect stories based on a theme, which allows them to provide a coherent lens onto a topic. Initially covering contemporary Asian culture around the world,...
  
  . Issue 19 Spring 2009
• One Box Isn't Enough: An Analysis of How U.S. Colleges and Universities Classify Mixed Heritage Students by Alfredo Padilla with Matt Kelley Mavin Foundation
  Mavin Foundation
  Mavin Foundation is a community organization which seeks to build “healthy communities that celebrate and empower mixed heritage people and families.” Located in Seattle, WA, Mavin has been recognized nationally for its work toward a society inclusive of those in the mixed heritage community...
  
  . November 9, 2005

Articles

(organized by most recent)

• Mavin: One who understands by Julie Dexter, Washington Health Foundation. Winter 2007
• Black and White and read all over by Naomi Pabst, The Village Voice. January 31, 2006
• It's time for 'Generation Mix' by Mireya Navarro, Taipei Times. April 26, 2005
• When you contain multitudes by Mireya Navarro, New York Times. April 24, 2005
• Former 'Others' show their pride by Janie Magruder, The Arizona Republic. April 8, 2005
• Coast-to-coast Mix RV tour an interracial celebration by Jason Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle. April 7, 2005
• Mixed-race youth are on a literal drive to find their identity by John Iwasaki, Seattle Times. April 4, 2005
• Seeing mixed races through the eyes of new generation by Jerry Large, Seattle Times. March 31, 2005
• Race isn't as clear as black and white by Florangela Davila, Seattle Times. January 17, 2005
• Multiracial and proud! Multiracial teens are claiming their own identities and changing our notion of race by John DiConsiglio, Scholastic Choices. September 2004
• Multiracial Youth in Care by Lisette Austin, The Connection. April 2004
• Foundation helps those of mixed race by John Iwasaki, Seattle Post-Intelligencer. March 20, 2004
• Group holds Marrow-Thon to find multiracial donors by Jean Stevens, The Daily Orange. November 13, 2002
• Kelley's foundation springs from multiracial heritage by Steve Wilhelm, Puget Sound Business Journal. September 13, 2002
• Multiracial - a new way of thinking by D. Parvaz, Seattle Post-Intelligencer. March 14, 2001
• Impact of Census' race data debated by Martin Kasindorf and Haya El Nasser, USA Today. March 13, 2001
• Census 'can of worms' makes experts squirm by Stuart Eskenazi, Seattle Times. March 13, 2001
• Changing the way we think about race by Solomon Moore, Los Angeles Times. March 5, 2001
• Who wants to be an entrepreneur? by Theresa O'Rourke, Link Magazine. May 2000
• Birth of a Maven: Matt Kelley's brave new magazine targets a mixed-race world by Andy Steiner, Utne Reader. September/October 1999