WRITING WORKSHOPS

Kelly Richey first became an “Artist on Tour” for the Cincinnati Arts Association in 2003. By 2006, Kelly had noticed a steep decline in the already limited resources allotted for music and arts education in many local public schools and communities she visited. As a student who had struggled in school because of dyslexia, Richey knew first-hand about the power of music and the positive impact it had had on her ability to learn and excel. In response, she founded Music for Change, a nonprofit organization focused on keeping music education alive in underfunded schools and communities. Through Music for Change, Kelly delivers school programs, blues history presentations, guitar instruction, and songwriting workshops. She also volunteers her services to reach out to U.S. armed services veterans, holding free guitar workshops and giving vets access to all her online guitar-instruction resources.  In 2018, Kelly established Women Writing for (a) Change + Mobile, an affiliate of WWf(a)C Cincinnati, as part of her nonprofit organization committed to helping students and communities find their own unique voice.

After years of experience working one-on-one with students, presenting workshops and delivering assembly programs, Kelly decided to begin training to become a life coach in 2008. A firm believer in the importance of self-improvement, she continued to expand her education and eventually gained certifications as a Certified Dream Coach, Dream Coach Group Leader, True Purpose Coach, and True Purpose Coach Group Leader. Kelly also helped to design the curriculum for the True Purpose Group Coach certification, for the True Purpose Institute, founded by Tim Kelley.  In 2010, Kelly became trained in Voice Dialog.

COACHING

During this phase of intense personal growth and development, Richey realized that if she was truly going to help others, she would first need to help herself. In 2009, Richey surprised her friends, family and the music community by taking 18 months off the road, working with her own life coach, and committing herself to a life of total sobriety. When Kelly returned to her career as a touring musician, she did so at a pace that would allow her to not only complete her own certifications but also launch her own personalized coaching practice, Powered by Intention.  For almost a decade, Kelly has enjoyed working one-on-one with clients in person and via video Skype.

An avid writer since childhood, despite her lifelong struggles with dyslexia, Kelly Richey has developed her own methods to overcome this debilitating problem and has kept extensive handwritten journals since her teens. In 2012, Kelly released a poetry collection, Whisperings: A Collection of Poems from Blues Guitarist Kelly Richey. Richey’s poems deal with finding one’s truest self, relationship struggles, survival, the ups and downs of life, vulnerability, found and lost love, heartache, longing spirituality, passion, and hope.  The book is a special collection of 89 writings (including a companion spoken-word CD), highlighting Richey’s highly personal poems selected from thousands of journaled writings spanning three decades.

As her confidence as a poet and writer soared, Kelly Richey also began to develop her songwriting voice on a deeper level, as reflected in her 2013 CD release, “Sweet Spirit,” and her 2015 release “Shakedown Soul.” While writing the material for “Shakedown Soul,” Kelly became a certified writing facilitator and affiliate for the Cincinnati nonprofit group Women Writing for (a) Change. Inspired by that experience, Richey became an affiliate and established Women Writing for (a) Change + Mobile and developed a series of creative writing programs, A Piece of Paper Always Listens, Celebrating Our Struggles, (co-created with Karen Novak) which she presents in workshops, writing circles, school programs, and her private coaching sessions.

SUMMARY

Since 2010, Kelly Richey has steadfastly maintained her commitment to a well-balanced lifestyle. Today Kelly tailors her schedule to meet her deepest passions, music arts, creative arts, and the healing arts. By writing, recording and working with the best players the Midwest has to offer, this lifelong guitar-slinger revels in delivering her signature rock-solid wall of sound, whether she’s fronting her power trio or performing as a solo artist.

By teaching guitar students, leading writing programs, providing private life coaching through Powered by Intention, and leading the nonprofits Music for Change and Women Writing for (a) + Mobile, Kelly Richey has realized her dream of helping to build community through music and the healing arts. As a public speaker, Kelly also shares a more vulnerable side of herself by telling her own story, reading from her work, and performing original blues/rock tunes on acoustic guitar. It’s one more way of building connections between herself and her audience.

Just as you’d expect from the “Queen of the Road Warriors,” Kelly Richey never stands still very long. And so the song continues – in August 2016, Kelly began a three-year training program at Wellstreams in Columbus, Ohio, to become a Spiritual Director. To find out more about Kelly’s multifaceted life and passions, please visit the following websites or email kelly@kellyrichey.com.

Kelly Richey
kelly@kellyrichey.com
www.kellyrichey.com
Cell: 513.404.1820