20220612-CAPITALSTYLEMAGAZINE-T-0 - Flipbook - Page 12
3 THINGS
BY MIKE KLINGAMAN Capital Style
Kelly Brown
president and executive director of
the SPCA of Anne Arundel County
PHOTO BY BARBARA HADDOCK TAYLOR
It was, she acknowledged, an unusual
career change. Ten years ago, Kelly Brown
gave up a lucrative job as a nationally-known
interior designer to become president of the
SPCA of Anne Arundel County. Overnight,
she imagined fancy custom-made sofas
as scratching posts, and chic carpets with
puddle stains.
“I gave up design work to follow my heart,
and I’ve never looked back,” said Brown, 54,
who grew up in Annapolis and now lives in
Crownsville. “Since [age] 5, all I’ve wanted
was to be around animals. I used to paint my
dog’s toenails. Now I’m back where my heart
lies.”
In her decade in charge, Brown has
launched everything from low-cost spay/neuter programs to cut-rate vaccine clinics and
food banks for low-income pet owners. In
12 | SUMMER 2022 | capitalstylemag.com
2014, the SPCA adopted a “no-kill” policy for
the 2,000 dogs, cats and small animals that
pass through annually, and its current save
rate is 98%.
“It has been a fun journey,” said Brown.
“Every morning that I turn into this driveway
and see the dogs outside in the shelter’s
yards, each in need of a permanent home, I
think, ‘This is why I’m here.’” Here are three
things you might like to know about Brown:
Modeling was her first career.
“I started modeling professionally at 13,
both print ads and commercials, and did
it for 30 years, [touting] everything from
Amtrak to Hyatt Hotels. In the 1990s, my butt
wound up on a billboard on the outfield wall
in [old] Yankee Stadium in New York. It was
an ad for low-fat Utz Potato Chips, and the
Utz logo was embroidered on the back pocket
of my jeans.”
She’s a former Miss Montana USA.
“While living and working there, in 1994,
I entered the pageant and won. Among my
prizes was a coyote coat embroidered with
my name. That was a little challenging for
me; I appreciate the coyotes and I don’t even
eat meat. I spend my days saving animals, so
you can imagine how I felt.”
Her brother-in-law is game show host
Pat Sajak.
“Once, on the set of ‘Wheel of Fortune,’ I
stood in for Vanna White during a rehearsal
and got to spin the wheel and work the
puzzle board. Everyone wants to know what
that feels like. It was fun.”