Keely is a journalist based in northwest Montana writing about the environment, water and wastewater, health policy, food, fire and the energy transition. She also is a podcast producer and editor for a Montana Public Radio podcast.
Her bylines include Scientific American, U.S. News & World Report, CBS News, The New Republic, KFF Health News, Montana Free Press, Ars Technica and Outside Business Journal.
In 2023, she completed a legislative reporting fellowship with KFF Health News during Montana's 68th legislative session and graduated with an MA in Environmental Journalism from the University of Montana. Keely completed a summer fire reporting internship with Montana Free Press in 2022. Before, she worked for two years in a staff position for the Lone Peak Lookout and The Madisonian in southwest Montana and freelanced for Dance Spirit Magazine.
Keely received her undergraduate degrees in History and Religious Studies from Montana State University in 2017.
Journalism love letter 💌
My love for journalism started with two community newspapers (go local news!) and continued through an environmental and natural resources journalism graduate program at the University of Montana.
In my first staff meeting in 2019 for the community papers, my new publisher asked us all why we wanted to be journalists. I said I wanted to be a writer, because I didn’t really know anything about journalism at the time. Since then, I’ve found that journalism has been a constant companion as I’ve navigated life, trying to explain the world to others. I’ve learned so much, perhaps the most important thing being that the conversations journalism forces people to have are needed in this world more than ever.
I have written widely for Montana outlets — both freelancing and in that staff position for two years — and national publications, including The New Republic, Ars Technica and KFF Health News. In my spare time, I’m taking dance classes, drinking processo and running around the mountains.
I received the Bodie McDowell scholarship awarded by the Outdoor Writers Association of America in 2022 and the Crown Reporting Fellowship awarded by the University of Montana School of Journalism in 2022.
I received the Mark Henckel Outdoor Writing Award awarded by the Montana Newspaper Association in 2021, along with a handful of Division III newspaper awards that same year.
Check out my resume here.