About Kellen Arno

Kellen Arno is the founder and principal strategist of Grandview Campaigns, a trusted advisor to political leaders, philanthropic organizations, and mission-driven enterprises navigating high-stakes moments. With more than two decades of experience at the intersection of politics, business, and civic life, Kellen has built a career on providing clarity, discipline, and steady leadership when the stakes are highest and the margin for error is smallest.

Over the course of his career, Kellen has advised U.S. presidential candidates, Fortune 500 companies, national foundations, and grassroots organizers. He is known for his rare ability to bridge executive-level strategic planning with on-the-ground campaign execution. His work often sits at the center of moments where political risk, public perception, and organizational ambition converge  and where outcomes have the potential to reshape institutions and communities.

At Murmuration, a national civic technology and data organization, Kellen served first as Vice President of External Affairs and later as Chief Program Officer. He guided the organization through a period of extraordinary growth and change, scaling its budget nearly threefold, leading a complex organizational merger, and reframing its mission to meet the challenges of a volatile political environment. Under his leadership, Murmuration expanded its user base by 400%, supported partners across the country in reaching millions of voters, and became a trusted platform for data-driven civic engagement.

Before Murmuration, Kellen served as Vice President of Strategy and Communications at StudentsFirst, where he oversaw one of the most ambitious K–12 education reform efforts of its era. There, he helped deliver more than 220 policy wins across 17 states with an 89% success rate, reframing education reform as a civil rights issue and building enduring coalitions that shifted national debates.

Earlier in his career, Kellen was National Field Director at Americans Elect, where he directed the ballot access and volunteer field program for an unprecedented effort to place a bipartisan presidential ticket on the ballot in all 50 states. He also served as Vice President of Campaigns at Election Systems, Inc., where he managed over 70 candidate, initiative, and issue campaigns across nine states, and as a research associate at Capitol Links, working internationally on advocacy and electoral strategy.

Through Grandview Campaigns, his advisory practice, Kellen has counseled leaders through defining moments, from repositioning a high-profile NFL stadium initiative in one of the country’s largest metropolitan regions, to advising a presidential hopeful through the early stages of a campaign, to helping philanthropic coalitions align strategy and mitigate risk. Across all of these engagements, he is recognized for his composure under pressure, his ability to reframe complex challenges into clear strategies, and his instinct for guiding principals through moments when every decision matters.

He holds a B.A. in History and Political Science from the University of California, Davis.

Outside of his professional life, Kellen lives in Southern California with his wife and daughter. He is passionate about the outdoors and finds balance in surfing, golfing, and running along the California coast.