Mary Ann Kellam | 2024 Latina of Influence
Hispanic Lifestyle is honored to recognize Irving Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, President/CEO Mary Ann Kellam as a Latina of Influence. Ms. Kellam will be recognized for her leadership in our community during Hispanic Lifestyle’s Connecting Latinas of Influence | Texas to be held on August 27, 2024 in Dallas, Texas.
Mary Ann Kellam is President/CEO of the Irving Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (IHCC). Under her leadership, the IHCC has added several business seminars, Leadership seminars, as well as on-going training for small start-up businesses and existing businesses needing specific assistance or certification as minority-owned businesses. Ms. Kellam has led the chamber to such success that it’s being recognized as one of the most involved Hispanic chambers in the DFW area and their members come from all over the Metroplex. They have received 3 back-to-back Medium Sized Chamber of the Year awards from TAMACC. They have also received 2 grants from the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, for the success of their Power Hour Seminars and the new Spanish Entrepreneurship workshops, La Hora de Poder. The IHCC was selected as the 2021 United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Chamber of the Year.
During the pandemic, Kellam led the IHCC through virtual seminars and networking events. They pivoted to working remotely and while they could not get out and meet with prospects, were able to recruit 41 new members into the chamber. This was mainly due to their on-going presence on social media, covering member spotlights and promoting small businesses so they could stay in business. She and her staff took a strong lead in assisting small businesses through the application process for grants and were able to help many businesses receive funding. The United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, along with a meat producer, selected the IHCC among 1 of 6 chambers in the US to receive $15,000 in grants to award to small businesses. They also helped small businesses with Dallas County; City of Irving; Ford Motor Co. and other grants, generating several hundred thousand dollars in awards. She also applied for the PPP and the EIDL grants that were available for Chambers of Commerce.
The office of The Governor selected the IHCC to be coordinators of the Binax Now COVID-19 rapid test kits for small businesses. They issued nearly 4,000 test kits to small businesses, so more employees could take the test, with 15-minute results, rather than waiting 1 or 2 days to see if they were infected with COVID. They were able to help many businesses avoid serious spreading, by being able to determine positive cases that spared the rest of the employees. Through the assistance of Dallas College, Northlake Campus, she added a course for entrepreneurs starting or growing their business. This course credits the student with 3 college hours that they can apply to a degree if they choose to stay in college. She also added the IHCC Small Business Resource Center, to assist small businesses with all their resources, right in the chamber’s offices, rather than sending them all over the Metroplex to find the assistance they need.
Mary Ann Kellam was in the financial services industry prior to joining the chamber. But her longest tenured career was in the clothing industry, as a territory Sales Rep for a designer for whom she previously modeled. This was an industry that women were discouraged to pursue, due to the extensive travel involved. She proved to the industry that a woman could do it, with the right support at home, and became the #1 sales rep in the country for almost 9 years.
She has been active in leadership positions in the Dallas, Irving, and Coppell, TX communities. She is Past State-Chair of the Hispanic Women’s Network of Texas (HWNT), as well as past chair of the Dallas chapter. She has also held numerous positions within HWNT including State Rep for the Dallas chapter and State Secretary. At the local chapter, she served as a committee member and mentor of the HWNT education program, Latinas in Progress and chaired 2 large Black & White galas. Mary Ann helped start the new chapter of MANA de North Texas, a national Latina organization and took the role of secretary. She has been a mentor at the Irma Rangel Young Women’s Leadership School in Dallas and David Singley Academy in Irving. In 2007, she was selected as a member of Hispanic 100, in Dallas, where she has held several leadership roles and is still very involved.
Kellam is past-Chairman of the Board of the Coppell Chamber of Commerce, a committee member of the Coppell Independent School District and a member of the City of Coppell Economic Development board. At the Coppell Chamber, she also chaired several golf tournaments; worked on their gala committee for 8 years and chaired the Education committee.
She has provided seminars to the victims of domestic violence at Dallas women’s shelters. She has also been involved with Girls, Inc.; The Dallas County Children’s Advocacy Center; Assistance League of Dallas; Wednesday’s Child Benefit Corporation and volunteered at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children, for several years.
In 1999, Kellam created a Coppell youth leadership program for high school juniors, the Coppell Youth Leadership (CYL) program, which she facilitated for 10 years. This program was created to help young teens develop or enhance their leadership skills. The program sessions focused on Cultural Diversity; Career Development; Social Services; Business; Government; Arts; Health/Wellness/Lifestyle; as well as community involvement and volunteerism. CYL members were selected every year from a pool of
100’s of applicants. They were judged on application, reference letters, an essay, and an interview with Ms. Kellam and 4 other facilitators. Another requirement of the program was implementing a community service project that benefitted others in the community. Graduates of the program were tracked for their leadership positions during their senior year and in college. Some students even contributed their successes to values and skills they learned in CYL.
Kellam has extensive experience in sales and management. She has owned and operated several businesses and is also certified as a Professional Image Consultant and a Self-Improvement/ Development Consultant. In her spare time, she is a jewelry designer. She also conducts team building workshops, personality assessments and etiquette training for corporations, as well as for organizations and schools. She is bilingual (English/Spanish).
Currently, Mary Ann is a member of the Board of Directors of the Irving Family Advocacy Center; North Texas Chamber Executives; DFW Hispanic 100 women’s organization and their Incoming President for 2025. She also serves as the Hispanic Women’s Network of Texas Past State-Chair Advisory Council.
Mary Ann is a graduate of several community Leadership programs. In 2009, she was one of 100 women across the State of Texas, selected to participate in Leadership Texas. She is a past recipient of the “Coppell Woman of the Year” award and was awarded the Estrella Award by HWNT in 2007, the HWNT President’s award in 2010 and the Community Outreach award in 2015. In 2016, she received the La Cima Award, for the Non-Profit Leader category. She was a Professional Model, in Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, NY and LA for over 2 decades.
