Board Member Interview: Kelly Bluett

Kelly Blewett visiting the Harriet Beecher Stowe House

​Kelly Blewett is an assistant professor of English at Indiana University East, where she also directs the writing program. She joined the Board in January 2021. Following are edited excerpts from an interview with Dr. Blewett.
 
When did you first learn about the Harriet Beecher Stowe House?
I first learned about the House when I did a service project through my church in 2012. Our assignment was doing work at the House. I later researched the House more in 2014 when I was working on a project at the University of Cincinnati.

What is one piece of advice you would give someone who is interested in becoming a volunteer, member, or even a board member?
Go ahead and jump right in! I thought about getting involved with the Friends of Harriet Beecher Stowe House for a long time. In 2020 I decided to reach out and see if there were any openings on the Board. I was interviewed by Kathryn and Christina and started my position on the Board in January 2021. It has been a pleasure working with this community. I love to see people invest in their local communities and give their time and talent to organizations that they believe in.  
 
Kelly aims to use the same ideas that are taught at the Harriet Beecher Stowe House in her classroom by being attentive to equity and inclusion issues. A former book publicist, Kelly is a voracious reader and spoke of the book, The Black Friend by Frederick Joseph. The Black Friend offers up personal stories of Fred and other activists to teach White audiences about racism.

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