Kelly Holmes (Mnicoujou Lakota from the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota), through her work in business, fashion, and media, hopes to strengthen connections to culture and identity by inspiring and empowering readers while sharing stories with the world.
Kelly is the founder and President of Native Max New Media, an award-winning global multimedia brand with a constellation of platforms and networks that expands indigenous talent across print, digital, web, mobile, video, events, e-commerce and partnerships. She is also editor-in-chief of Native Max Magazine, a glossy publication which features the fashion, culture, and lifestyle of Native American and First Nations people.
The idea behind the formation of Native Max Magazine was the brainchild of Kelly. After working as a model, writer, designer, and stylist, Kelly decided to create her own business. Kelly felt that by launching a magazine that features Native talent she can better promote self-esteem, self-respect, and pride in Native communities.
Kelly is also the founder and CEO of Native Fashion in the City, a global network and platform committed to strengthening the impact and influence of Indigenous Fashion around the world by supporting the next generation of Indigenous fashion talents.
Kelly co-founded Skoden Ventures with business partner Alice Loy. Skoden Ventures is the first Native female-founded boutique venture fund that focuses on supporting very early-stage start-up ventures with Indigenous, Black, Brown, and female founders. Kelly utilizes her significant personal experience and long expertise in start-ups to help disrupt the traditional VC model, helping make capital accessible to historically-excluded communities.
Sharing her wealth of knowledge and entrepreneurialism, Kelly is the Lead Faculty of Creatives Indigenous, an entrepreneur program that takes Indigenous creative entrepreneurs from the starting line to start-up status and beyond through an array of programs, education, resources, and more.
