60 seconds with dr. kelly little: “we lift humanity by strengthening families.”

hot take: people – not computers – still say the coolest stuff. this series is dedicated to the soundbites, aha! moments & stories that are undeniably human.   

The best conversations don’t start with small talk. They start with Eagles versus Steelers.

The first time I talked to Kelly Little on the phone, we skipped the pleasantries and went straight into football talk. The kind where you can razz and laugh in the same breath. The kind that tells you immediately: oh, this person can hold their own, and won’t take themselves too seriously while doing it.

There are very few people I can really get into football with who can spar intelligently, laugh generously, and still leave the conversation better than they found it. Kelly was one of them. 

Over the last five years, Kelly and I have had dozens of conversations – about work and leadership, life and responsibility, soul and heart. And here’s the thing: I leave every single one having written down a quote from him. Always. It’s always something profound and quietly clarifying. It’s that perspective that’s shaping the critically important work he does for families, fathers, and young people. 

We’ve had our fair share of funny moments, too. Like the time we redesigned one-pagers that had to be printed in Oklahoma City for Kelly’s presentation at the Governor’s office. It somehow resulted in me on the phone with Kelly and on email with an eager Kinko’s employee being routed to an OKC hotel to personally deliver them to Kelly. (Still one of my favorite “only in agency life” stories.)

No matter the situation or the conversation, Kelly is consistent: calm and grounded, thoughtful and wise. I cannot say that about many humans. He’s the kind of wisdom that doesn’t rush the room. (And I hope, one day, he’ll leave the Eagles and join Steeler Nation.)

– meg

toth shop (ts): This month (January 2026) marks 10 years since you started The Urban Institute for Strengthening Families. “Strengthening families” is a powerful phrase to put into the brand’s name. How did you come up with the name, and what has remained a constant in the brand over the last 10 years? 

Dr. Kelly R. Little (KL): When I founded the Urban Institute for Strengthening Families (UI4SF) ten years ago, I wanted a name that didn’t just describe what we do. I wanted a name that reflected who we are. “Strengthening Families” is more than a phrase; it is a philosophy, an approach, a promise, and a responsibility. I grew up witnessing both the beauty and the gaps in our systems. I saw fathers who wanted to show up for their families; but lacked support; mothers who carried too much alone; young people who had brilliance but no bridge to opportunity.

The company’s name came from a simple, but transformative truth: strong families create strong communities; the Institute represents the importance of belonging, an eco-system and a mental, physical, and figurative illumination of optimizing people and community.

What has remained constant over the last decade is our commitment to human dignity, emotional intelligence, healing-centered engagement, and the belief that every father, mother, and young person carries inherent worth. We have always refused to define people by their trauma or mistakes. Instead, we define them by their potential, their resilience, and their capacity to grow. Life is a journey full of possibilities and lessons. We have to be curious enough to ask root questions that allow the organization to help people to find their connections to one another.

UI4SF has evolved in scale, practice and innovation, belonging, brave space, healing, fatherhood, paternity wards to global leadership exchanges, maternal health equity, youth Rites of Passages, but our heartbeat remains the same: we lift humanity by strengthening families.

ts: You served the United States in the U.S. Army National Guard and you’re now a certified mindfulness coach among so many other certificates and recognitions; what’s the connection or thread/tie for you between your work in the military, mindfulness, and coaching? 

KL: People often see the military and mindfulness as opposites, but for me they are deeply interconnected. My years in the Military taught me discipline, service, and an unshakeable commitment to mission. But it also taught me cohesion, collectiveness, the cost of stress, hypervigilance, and silence, especially for men who are taught to push through pain without processing it.

Mindfulness and coaching became the tools that helped me reclaim myself, and now they allow me to guide others.

The thread between them is purposeful presence.

• The military taught me to be disciplined in action.

• Mindfulness taught me to be grounded in awareness.

• Coaching taught me to help others align their actions with their purpose and to go deep with curiosity because that is where you find answers.

  
  

Together, they form a healing-centered framework that I bring to fathers, young men, mothers, and community leaders: Move with intention. Lead with compassion. Heal as you grow.

ts: Last year, you took a trip to Africa to connect some big and special dots for your family legacy. Can you tell us about the trip and the one aha! moment that keeps coming back for you when you think about what you learned? 

KL: My journey to Guinea and the broader West African region was more than a trip, it was a homecoming. I went to connect my family legacy, honor my ancestors, and build global bridges between global fatherhood, maternal health equity, leadership, and community innovation.

The moment that keeps returning to me is when an elder in Timbo said to me: “Your work is our work. You are returning what was taken.”

That statement shook me. It reminded me that the work we do at UI4SF is not just local, it is ancestral, transcontinental, and deeply spiritual. Seeing young people in Guinea navigating the same aspirations and barriers as youth in Charlotte made it clear: our destinies are intertwined.

The aha! moment was this: Liberation is generational, global, and communal. Our healing is intertwined.

ts: Your latest commitment is The Father’s Haven to support men as they find themselves as fathers – what’s the one thing you want fathers to know about their role today?  

KL: If I could tell fathers one thing, it would be this: Your presence is power. Your love is legacy. Your healing is generational.

Fatherhood isn’t about perfection, it’s about being present with presence, consistent, compassionate, emotionally available, and willing to grow. Fathers Haven was built because fathers deserve space to heal, learn, and lead. When fathers show up with emotional intelligence, communities become safer, children thrive, mothers feel supported, and generational cycles shift for the better.

You matter. Your story matters. And your presence – especially in the small moments – shapes the world.

ts: 18 is generally considered to be one of the hardest miles in a marathon. You’re hitting a wall. You’re forced to dig deep. What’s mile 18 in your line of work or at a point in your career, what do you tell yourself when you find yourself in the middle of a mile 18? 

KL: Mile 18 happens more often than people realize in this work. It shows up in the moments when systems resist change, when families are hurting, when funding is thin, when emotional labor weighs heavy, and when the work asks more of you than what is left in your tank.

In my Mile 18 moments, I tell myself: “This is where purpose proves itself. Keep your heart soft, your spirit grounded, and your mission clear.” More importantly, we have to remember to connect within, it’s a mental process that is similar to homeostasis in the body or when we are in our zone of excellence.

I remember that I am part of a lineage of ancestors who survived far more than exhaustion. I remember the boys, fathers, and families who say that UI4SF changed their trajectory. I remember my daughters and the legacy I want to leave them.

And I remind myself of something I teach every day: Healing work is marathon work. Pace yourself. Breathe deeply. Take the next step. The purpose is worth the pain.