As director of government affairs at The Roberts Group, Kelley's portfolio of work will include a wide array of federal legislative and regulatory issues including nutrition, food safety, alcohol tax and trade, colors, flavor labeling and organics, fragrance safety, intellectual property, TSCA reform and green initiatives.

Poole comes to The Roberts Group from the National Confectioners Association where she served as Director of Government Affairs. Prior to that she served for six years at the United States Department of Agriculture, serving in the office of white house liaison, and as a special assistant to former U.S. Ambassador to South Africa Eric M. Bost in his capacity as under secretary for food, nutrition, and consumer services. Before joining USDA, Poole served in public affairs roles in the Departments of Labor as special assistant to the secretary, at the Department of Defense as a defense fellow and public affairs officer, as well as leading the public affairs and business relations initiatives of the United States Trade and Development Agency. Ms. Poole’s early career includes tenure as chief cabinet aide to the Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and as a staff director in the Florida Senate. Kelley also worked on Capitol Hill for a member of congress from her home state of Florida and has twenty years of experience at the state and federal level in both the executive and legislative branches of government.

Poole graduated from Florida State University with a bachelor’s of science in economics and minor in business and completed the Kennedy School of Government executive program at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. Kelley and her husband Brent Peterson live in Upper Marlboro, MD.