Meet Kelda

Kelda and her partner Dan are raising five wonderful, energetic kids together — Kelda’s two young adult stepdaughters and their three little ones. Kelda’s commitment to Wisconsin’s future is personal — and she knows a thing or two about managing chaos. Dan is a midwestern Spotted Cow lover and Packers fan who was mistakenly born in Virginia. He works at American Family Insurance but in previous lives was a strategy consultant, fishing software entrepreneur, and lefty pitcher for the Orioles organization.

As our State Senator, Kelda hold regular listening sessions, constituent meetings, and informal “Coffee with Kelda” gatherings. She has always been driven by serving constituents, and that starts with listening closely to what they need. To win her first campaign for Assembly, Kelda knocked on 20,252 doors. Whether at the grocery store or on a Madison Metro bus, some of Kelda’s best ideas come listening to and caring about her constituents.

Kelda has never been afraid to tell difficult truths, even when it’s unpopular. A longtime board member of Common Cause, Kelda has spoken out about the corrosive influence of big money in politics and authored legislation against Citizens United. Kelda has stood up to leaders in her own party, on issues such as enabling advance practice nurse practitioners to practice to the full extent of their training. When Republicans tried to ram through Act 10 without debate, Kelda’s passionate speech stopped them and gave the public more time to learn about Walker’s attack on workers.

Kelda has been standing up for women and families her whole career. As the state’s leading abortion rights advocate, she co-chairs the Reproductive Freedom Working Group and is the lead author of many reproductive justice initiatives. A member of the Joint Committee on Finance, she stands out as an influential and effective lawmaker, advancing pro-family policies like paid family leave and public support for early childhood education/childcare. As vice-chair of the Assembly Committee on Health and Healthcare Reform, Kelda helped expand health coverage to over 80,000 previously uninsured Wisconsinites. Kelda stood up to the chemical lobby and authored the BPA Free Kids Act, to stop the neurotoxin bisphenol A from being put in baby bottles. 

As executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin for four years, Kelda traveled our state and developed innovative, successful efforts to expand reproductive healthcare access. Working with an anti-choice Assembly, she helped Wisconsin pass its first pro-choice law in three decades, the Compassionate Care for Rape Victims Act. Kelda also worked on initiatives to reduce infant mortality and the need for abortion, to protect breastfeeding, and to decrease racial disparities in health care.

Kelda is the CEO and Founder of OpenHomes, a real estate brokerage that uses technology to help people sell and buy homes more easily and affordably. Frustrated with the high fees and inconsistent service of traditional brokerages, Kelda created an innovative, boutique real estate brokerage while pregnant with her first child. Kelda’s company serves customers across southern Wisconsin. As an employer and entrepreneur, Kelda knows the challenges that small businesses face and that solving them is the key to a vibrant, growing economy that works for everyone.

In addition to her professional work, Kelda has been an active community leader for two decades. She volunteers at her kids’ schools and preschool, and has taught Sunday school. Kelda has also served on many boards including the Clean Lakes Alliance, ACLU of Wisconsin, TEMPO Madison, Common Cause, Wisconsin Women’s Council, Citizen Action of Wisconsin, Madison Repertory Theater, Public Interest Law Foundation, the Dane County Democratic Party’s Executive Board, and the Wisconsin State Bar Legal Services Committee.

Senator Roys has been a legislative leader starting in 2009, when she was first elected to the Assembly as the youngest then-serving state legislator. As Democratic Caucus Chair in 2011, she helped lead the opposition to Walker’s attack on workers during the historic Act 10 protests. Kelda authored laws on a wide range of progressive issues, including health care, economic justice, election and campaign finance reform, consumer protection, child safety, conservation, fiscal responsibility, and criminal justice reform.

Kelda earned her law degree from the University of Wisconsin, where she worked for the Wisconsin Innocence Project, helping free wrongfully convicted people from prison. As an attorney she represented people, non-profits, and small businesses, while providing free legal services to Wisconsinites in need. Kelda also served on the State Bar’s committee to expand access to free legal services.

Kelda is helping lead Wisconsin into a more progressive future as Madison’s state senator. She is committed to building a strong Democratic majority in the legislature. Kelda stands out because of her proven record of progressive accomplishments, her effective leadership in state government, her executive experience in the private and non-profit sectors – and most of all, her passion and positive vision for our state’s future.