Tara McCammon Kelly is the vice president of Policy & Programs at the Municipal Art Society of New York, a non-profit organization dedicated to educating and inspiring New Yorkers to engage in the betterment of the city. Previously, she was executive director of Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts. She serves on the board of directors of the Isles of Shoals Association, the board of advisers of the Historic Districts Council, as well as the Island Heritage & Artifacts and Property Standards Committees of the Star Island Corporation. She holds an M.S. in historic preservation from Pratt Institute and a B.S. in linguistics from Georgetown University.    
Tara traces her Irish heritage through Michael J. Kelly, who arrived in Paw Paw, Illinois, from County Clare around 1870. John McCammon, another ancestor, originated in Derry and settled in territory south of the Ohio River (Tennessee) in about 1785. The McCown family, on her maternal side, have been in America since at least 1769. Tara lives in Brooklyn with her husband Joe Palazzolo (not Irish), along with their cat and dog (also not Irish).