Jill Kelley (born June 3, 1975) is a Lebanese-American

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

, and diplomatic advisor. She is also a former South Korean

Honorary Consul A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

, and a former honorary ambassador to

U.S. Central Command The United States Central Command (USCENTCOM or CENTCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the U.S. Department of Defense. It was established in 1983, taking over the previous responsibilities of the Rapid Deployment Joint Tas ...

under General James N. Mattis.Jill Kelley e-mails depict a striving Tampa socialite and a smitten military brass.
The Washington Post. Craig Whitlock, February 3, 2015.Jill Kelley Plans A Party Wednesday at the Trump Hotel to Celebrate Donald Trump’s Victory
The Washingtonian. Elaina Plott, November 8, 2017. Kelley is president and founder of Military Diplomacy Strategies, an international advisory firm that advises embassies and multi-national companies to foster military, security and economic relationships. She is also the founder of a blockchain company, holds two patents, one biomedical and blockchain, and is on the board of several public companies. In 2021, Kelley was appointed Executive Director of an Australian

rare-earth The rare-earth elements (REE), also called the rare-earth metals or (in context) rare-earth oxides or sometimes the lanthanides (yttrium and scandium are usually included as rare earths), are a set of 17 nearly-indistinguishable lustrous silve ...

company, to increase their North American presence.

Early life and marriage

Kelley was born Jill Gilberte Khawam on June 3, 1975 in

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus lie ...

.Jill Kelley, key figure in Petraeus scandal, led lavish life
''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

'' November 14, 2012 She immigrated to the United States with her

Maronite Catholic The Maronite Church is an Eastern Catholic '' sui iuris'' particular church in full communion with the pope and the worldwide Catholic Church, with self-governance under the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches. The current head of the ...

parents in the mid-1970s.Leger, Donna Leinwand (November 12, 2012
Jill Kelley ID'd as woman who sparked Petraeus inquiry.
''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

'' The family consists of Kelley, her two sisters a brother.Staff report (October 22, 1993)
Philadelphia fans short on memory but long on faith.
''

Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Penns ...

'' Kelley lived in the

Philadelphia, PA Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

area until her mid-20s.Laker, Barbara (November 12, 2012)
Petraeus email trail has Philly link.
philly.com Following high school, she studied to become a doctor and was a medical researcher at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest- ...

. In 1999, Kelley married cancer-surgeon Scott Kelley. Following their marriage, the couple moved to

Tampa Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough C ...

and had three children.

Public life

While in Tampa, Kelley served as a volunteer social-liaison to

MacDill Air Force Base MacDill Air Force Base (MacDill AFB) is an active United States Air Force installation located 4 miles (6.4 km) south-southwest of downtown Tampa, Florida. The "host wing" for MacDill AFB is the 6th Air Refueling Wing (6 ARW), assig ...

.Petraeus friend Jill Kelley found place hosting military parties
''

Tampa Bay Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', previously named the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It has won fourteen Pulitzer Prizes since 1964, and in 2009, won two in a single ...

'' November 13, 2012 The couple has hosted numerous events for military leaders at their home near the

United States Central Command The United States Central Command (USCENTCOM or CENTCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the U.S. Department of Defense. It was established in 1983, taking over the previous responsibilities of the Rapid Deployment Joint Ta ...

.Carol D. Leonnig (November 13, 2012)
Jill Kelley: Tampa woman who was hostess to the military
''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...

'' Her husband Scott Kelley says he and his wife feel an obligation to share their good fortune by showing support for the military. In 2011, Kelley received the Joint Chiefs of Staff Outstanding Public Service Award. In 2012, Kelley was an honorary ambassador to U.S. Central Command under General James N. Mattis, then-commander of U.S. military forces in the Middle East. In 2012, Kelley was named

for the

Republic of Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its ea ...

. Due to her connections with both U.S. military personnel and South Korean businesses, she was removed from the position later that year. Kelley believes she was inappropriately removed from the post because she was a key figure in the Petraeus-Broadwell scandal. Kelley was an honorary social ambassador to the

military community, as well as honorary ambassador to Central Command commander Jim Mattis and

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

director David Petraeus. In 2018, Kelley and a senior advisor to the president met with the Polish government to set up a U.S. military base in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

, to be paid for by Poland, to improve their national security and relations with the U.S. military and the United States. From 2015 to 2017, Kelley and her neighbor

Joe Maddon Joseph John Maddon (born February 8, 1954) is an American former professional baseball manager and coach. He has managed the Tampa Bay Rays, Chicago Cubs, and Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball. Maddon began his coaching career in MLB ...

, former

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...

manager and current

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team h ...

General Manager, cohosted and held Gasparilla parties that aimed to benefit disabled veterans. These events were hosted at her mansion, and had many other celebrities and athletes in attendance.

Philanthropic activity

The Kelley's have held numerous charitable volunteering and fundraising events with organizations such as the

American Red Cross The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the des ...

, the

National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art, and its attached Sculpture Garden, is a national art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of ch ...

, the

Wounded Warrior Project Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) is an American charity and veterans service organization that offers a variety of programs, services and events for wounded veterans of the military actions following September 11, 2001. It operates as a nonprofit ...

, and Heart for the Homeless. In 2014, Kelley and her uncle (who is a Syrian Catholic leader) met with

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013 ...

to discuss the

persecution of Catholics Anti-Catholicism is hostility towards Catholics or opposition to the Catholic Church, its clergy, and/or its adherents. At various points after the Reformation, some majority Protestant states, including England, Prussia, Scotland, and the Uni ...

in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

. Kelley learned of a Pakistani Catholic couple who were burned alive by a mob, and she purchased a home in the United States for their orphaned children. From 2015 to 2017, Kelley and her neighbor—then Chicago Cubs manager

—cohosted Gasparilla parties to benefit

disabled Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, ...

veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military. A military veteran that h ...

s. In April 2020, Kelley's husband Dr Scott Kelley, setup a free nationwide Covid-19 hotline, a public service to offer free COVID test and medical evaluation to all Americans. During the height of the

Covid-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, the Kelleys funded a free hotline to serve marginalized and economically challenged communities. In this effort, the Kelleys partners weigh longtime friend, NFL quarterback

Jameis Winston Jameis Lanaed Winston ( ; born January 6, 1994) is an American football quarterback for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Florida State, where he became the youngest player to win the H ...

. Together they set up the hotline, which used

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech ...

(AI) and analytics to deliver free test kits and/or telemedicine appointments to patients in need. In 2021, Kelley assisted in the evacuation of hundreds of

Afghans Afghans ( ps, افغانان, translit=afghanan; Persian/ prs, افغان ها, translit=afghānhā; Persian: افغانستانی, romanized: ''Afghanistani'') or Afghan people are nationals or citizens of Afghanistan, or people with ancestry ...

from their country when the

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...

seized power. Kelley, whose Catholic family immigrated to the US to escape religious persecution in

, continues to work through her diplomatic ties to extract more Afghan refugees from danger zones. Kelley has been referred to as "a diplomatic fixer". Kelley also provided support to rescue LGBTQ Afghans and resettle them in Canada and has noted the special risks of these marginalized groups in remaining in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. The Kelleys are patrons of the Oxford Philharmonic. The Kelleys have twice offered their Nantucket home to

POTUS The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

and/or FLOTUS security staff: first during President Biden's Thanksgiving visit to Nantucket, followed by Jill Biden's July 2022 visit to Nantucket. Nantucket's "N Magazine" stated "With no vacancy at any of Nantucket's inns or hotels tonight, the visiting security for @flotus Jill Biden are staying at the Baxter Road home of Scott and Jill Kelley".

Petraeus scandal

In June, 2012, Kelley contacted the FBI and later filed a report that she received multiple anonymous harassing e-mails that appeared to be an attempt to

blackmail Blackmail is an act of coercion using the threat of revealing or publicizing either substantially true or false information about a person or people unless certain demands are met. It is often damaging information, and it may be revealed to fa ...

General

David Petraeus David Howell Petraeus (; born November 7, 1952) is a retired United States Army general and public official. He served as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency from September 6, 2011, until his resignation on November 9, 2012. Prior to ...

. The FBI's investigation led to the discovery of

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

Director General David Petraeus's

extramarital affair An affair is a sexual relationship, romantic friendship, or passionate attachment in which at least one of its participants has a formal or informal commitment to a third person who may neither agree to such relationship nor even be aware of ...

with

Paula Broadwell Paula Dean Broadwell (née Kranz; born November 9, 1972) is an American writer, academic and former military officer. Broadwell served in the US Army on both active and reserve duty for over 20 years, including time as a military school undergradu ...

who was Petraeus's biographer at the time. The FBI determined that

was responsible for

stalking Stalking is unwanted and/or repeated surveillance by an individual or group toward another person. Stalking behaviors are interrelated to harassment and intimidation and may include following the victim in person or monitoring them. The term ...

Kelley and was the source of the threatening emails. During the course of the investigation, government officials disclosed Kelley's name as the victim to the ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large na ...

'', along with the evidentiary emails she provided to the FBI. The accusations sparked an investigation by the

Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philipp ...

, which they eventually refused to investigate further. The accusations stated by government officials and the media made Kelley a near-daily feature during the scandal. On November 6, 2013 Kelley penned an

Op-Ed An op-ed, short for "opposite the editorial page", is a written prose piece, typically published by a North-American newspaper or magazine, which expresses the opinion of an author usually not affiliated with the publication's editorial board. ...

in the ''

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'' warning against government surveillance and describing herself as the "human face" of the damage that can be caused by government probing into Americans' personal communications. On June 3, 2013, Kelley filed a privacy

lawsuit - A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil act ...

against the

federal government A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-gover ...

alleging that investigators violated her privacy rights by unlawfully searching her personal emails and disclosing false descriptions of the nature of them to the media. In addition, she stated "false and untrue headlines created a media sideshow" at her expense, including her being wrongfully implicated in the

between Petraeus and Broadwell. Kelley has become an advocate for

internet privacy Internet privacy involves the right or mandate of personal privacy concerning the storing, re-purposing, provision to third parties, and displaying of information pertaining to oneself via Internet. Internet privacy is a subset of data privacy. Pr ...

and security.How to Save Privacy, by Petraeus Scandal Casualty Jill Kelley
''

Bloomberg Businessweek ''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'', is an American weekly business magazine published fifty times a year. Since 2009, the magazine is owned by New York City-based Bloomberg L.P. The magazine debuted in New York City ...

'' April 12, 2013

Privacy advocacy

In 2014, Kelley received the support of two U.S. Congressmen to advocate for stronger privacy rights using her story of privacy rights violations related to the Petraeus scandal to "bring awareness to the damages that can be caused by government overreach and unwarranted searches of emails." Kelley published a memoir in 2014, titled ''Collateral Damage: Petraeus, Power, Politics and the Abuse of Privacy''. In 2016, Kelley spoke at a

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the w ...

undergraduate eventHoward Altman.
Jill Kelley to speak at Yale University student organization
Tampa Bay Times. August 25, 2016. on the topics of privacy rights and Internet security, along with reform and stronger protection of electronic communications. The ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' alluded to Jill Kelley as "an apostle for privacy."

External links

JillKelley.com
– personal website
Military Diplomatic Strategies
– Military Diplomatic Strategies
Jill Kelley on Twitter

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelley, Jill 1975 births American socialites Lebanese socialites Lebanese emigrants to the United States Living people Lebanese Maronites People from Beirut People from Tampa, Florida People from Voorhees Township, New Jersey Petraeus scandal American twins Privacy activists