About

Kelly Giannattasio Narowski works as a government contractor, giving safety briefings to United States Army Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and Airmen around the country. She is a professional speaker and has delivered speeches to hundreds of audiences to include schools, leadership conferences, as well as military groups.

Two months after Kelly graduated with a degree in Health & Exercise Science from Missouri Western State University, she moved to Santa Barbara, California to start an exciting new life. Two months later, Kelly was involved in a serious car crash which left her with severe injuries. As a consequence of the crash, Kelly was permanently paralyzed from the chest down. Since she recognized her crash was a direct result of high risk driving behavior, injury prevention through education became important to her.

After her crash, Kelly worked full time as a corporate travel agent and simultaneously worked for a Missouri chapter of the Think First Foundation, an international brain and spinal cord injury prevention program for children and teens. Kelly spoke to over 54,000 students from 2001-2005 and educated children and teenagers on topics such as the importance of seatbelts, helmet use, and diving safety. Kelly was featured in a national speaker training video produced by the National Think First Injury Prevention Foundation in collaboration with the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation. She was also featured on several promotional materials for the Kansas City chapter and was a member of the National Think First VIP task force.

Kelly spoke for Missouri’s SATOP (Substance Abuse Traffic Offender’s Program) and gave 48 presentations to YTOP (Young Traffic Offender’s Program). YTOP involves teenage drivers with traffic violations being ordered by a judge to attend an intense day of safety education.

Kelly started dating a soldier in 2005 and unknowingly entered the exciting military world. Realizing that with the bravery it takes to become a Soldier often comes a risk taking personality, Kelly soon began volunteering to speak to Soldiers about traffic safety and the consequences of high risk behavior. Giving safety briefings to Soldiers became her job in 2009 when she left her 9 year position in corporate travel. She has given over 180 safety briefings to audiences at Fort Campbell, Fort Bragg, Fort Leavenworth, Fort Sam Houston, Fort Lee, Fort Riley, Fort Jackson, Fort Belvoir, Fort Myer, Fort McNair, Fort Wainwright, Fort Richardson, and The Presidio of Monterey. In 2011 Kelly added Marine Corps safety presentations to her agenda and spoke to Marines and Sailors at Camp Lejeune, Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center 29 Palms, Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany, Marine Corps Support Facility Blount Island, and Marine Corps Air Stations: Beaufort, Cherry Point, and New River. Keeping in mind her primary goal to convince members of the United States military they are not invincible, she educates them on several driving safety topics including drinking and driving and distracted driving. She ends each safety briefing with her personal story of how a car crash left her a wheelchair user for life.

Another important part of Kelly’s life is her role as a disability rights advocate. Proud of her involvement in the disability rights movement, Kelly works to help businesses in North Carolina and Virginia become more accessible to people with disabilities. For three years, she served on the Board of Directors for the Whole Person Center for Independent Living. She is an active member of the National Spinal Cord Injury Association, the Fayetteville Advisory Council for Persons with Disabilities, and volunteers as a peer mentor for people with recent spinal cord injuries. Kelly is the former Miss Wheelchair Missouri 2001.

While Kelly shuns high risk behavior, she hasn’t lost her adventurous spirit. She’s been sky diving and took an empowering solo vacation to Paris. As an avid traveler, she has enjoyed several international trips with her husband, Paul. Originally from the Kansas City area, Kelly currently enjoys a busy life at Fort Polk, Louisiana as an Army spouse, where Paul is the Senior Observer Controller of Logistics for the Joint Readiness Training Center. She is the former Family Readiness Group Advisor for the 307th Brigade Support Battalion and served as Liaison for the 82nd Airborne Division’s Wounded Warriors Committee. Kelly has been honored with the Iron Mike Award for Volunteerism, the Commander’s Award for Public Service, and the Dr Mary E. Walker Award. When not delivering safety briefings, engaging in disability rights activism, or running Army wife errands, Kelly loves spending time with family and friends. She enjoys reading, photography, shopping, wine tasting, captivating conversations, and hanging out with her adorable rescue dog, Tommy.