The SaddleBrooke Sunrise Rotary Club is proud to have inducted Kelly McDonald as a new member on February 19. His Rotary journey, however, did not begin in Arizona. Kelly has been a Rotary International member since 2012, joining in Washington state at the invitation of the school superintendent and past president of the Rotary Club of Auburn, Washington. In 2013, Kelly moved to Phoenix and joined a local club in Ahwatukee. In 2017, he moved to Hawaii and was active in Rotary District 5000, serving as a Board Member, President, and District Service Team Co-Chair. While there, Kelly joined 25 other Rotarians from Hawaii as part of a Rotary Global Grant to refresh the Bali Blood Bank, which had been established in 2001 prior to the 2002 resort bombing that claimed more than 110 lives. In 2022, Kelly moved to Dayton, Ohio, and joined the Centerville Rotary Club, where he became Fundraising Chair, Board member, President Elect, and Foundation Chair. Kelly is a Polio Plus Society member and multiple Paul Harris Fellow recipient.
Prior to his induction in the SaddleBrooke Sunrise Rotary Club, Kelly volunteered at the relief station for the Tucson Marathon, helped staff Moonlight Madness sales at the Golden Goose, and helped service the Club’s Little Free Library boxes from Catalina to Winkelman. On his connection to Rotary, Kelly commented,
"Rotary has been the through line of nearly the last decade and a half of my life, through moves across the country and job and life changes. I am grateful for the fellowship and service opportunities provided by Rotary that have enriched my life, helped me come to know more about the communities I have called home and brought me close to an incredible community of generous, thoughtful and giving individuals."
Before moving to SaddleBrooke, Kelly had been a graduate professor at Arizona State University in the Hugh Downs School for Human Communication. He later helped launch the downtown campus College of Arts and Letters. Having taught graduate research methods courses and undergraduate courses in leadership and strategic communication for nearly 15 years, Kelly left high education to follow a career in healthcare management working for Optum, Humana, AlohaCare, agilon health, Aetna, and—most recently in 2025—Banner here in Arizona.
In his free time outside of work, Kelly enjoys golf, travel, hiking, and reading. He and his wife Dev have a Maltipoo, Bella, whom they adopted as a senior shortly before the 2020 pandemic. Bella loves her time at the Ranch and all the friendly dogs and residents she meets on their walks around the community and at the dog park.
The SaddleBrooke Sunrise Rotary Club is thrilled to have Kelly on board! It is one of TWO Rotary clubs in the greater SaddleBrooke area. To learn more, come join one of the Club’s regular meetings on first and third Thursday of every month at 7:45 AM in the Mesa Room of the La Hacienda Clubhouse at SaddleBrooke Ranch, or send an email to saddlebrookesunriserotary@gmail.com!
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