Kelly Manke is an accomplished financial services executive, commercial banking leader, and strategic advisor with 24 years of professional experience spanning finance, commercial lending, real estate, credit analysis, investment management, and business relationship development. Throughout her career, she has built a reputation for combining financial expertise with a thoughtful, relationship-centered approach to leadership. Her professional journey reflects a commitment to helping organizations strengthen their financial foundations, navigate complex business environments, and identify opportunities for sustainable growth. With experience across prominent financial institutions and real estate organizations, Kelly brings a valuable combination of analytical discipline, commercial insight, and strategic perspective to the companies and communities she serves.
Kelly currently serves as Investor Relations Manager at SR Realty Trust, Inc., a position she assumed in August 2025. In this role, she brings her extensive background in finance, banking, and commercial real estate to an environment where investor relationships, financial understanding, and organizational credibility are essential. Her transition into investor relations represents a natural progression in a career dedicated to understanding how capital, investments, and business strategy intersect. Drawing upon decades of experience evaluating financial opportunities and cultivating professional relationships, Kelly offers a perspective that connects financial performance with stakeholder confidence and long-term organizational objectives.
Prior to joining SR Realty Trust, Kelly served as a Relationship Executive at J.P. Morgan from 2024 to 2025. This experience added another dimension to her extensive banking career, allowing her to contribute her knowledge of commercial finance and relationship management within one of the world’s leading financial institutions. Her professional background equipped her to understand the priorities of business clients, recognize the financial considerations influencing strategic decisions, and approach complex relationships with professionalism and sound judgment. Her time at J.P. Morgan further reinforced the importance of trust, responsiveness, and a comprehensive understanding of clients’ business objectives in creating lasting professional partnerships.
A significant chapter of Kelly’s career was her nine-year tenure at Bell Bank, where she served as Senior Vice President, Commercial Banker, from 2015 to 2024. This senior leadership position reflected her progression into increasingly sophisticated commercial banking responsibilities and her established expertise in financial services. Her experience encompassed the disciplines central to commercial banking, including lending, credit evaluation, financial analysis, portfolio management, and relationship development. Through this work, Kelly developed a deep appreciation for the connection between prudent financial decision-making and an organization’s ability to pursue growth. Her tenure at Bell Bank represents an important period in her development as an executive capable of bringing both technical financial knowledge and a broader commercial perspective to business challenges.
Kelly established much of her professional foundation during her 13 years at U.S. Bank, where she served as Vice President, Commercial Real Estate Banker, from 2002 to 2015. Working in commercial real estate banking provided her with substantial exposure to the financial and economic factors influencing property markets, lending decisions, asset valuations, and investment considerations. Her experience in credit analysis, commercial lending, loans, leases, real estate economics, and financial valuation helped shape the analytical approach that continues to define her professional expertise. This early and substantial chapter of her career provided the technical foundation for her subsequent advancement into senior commercial banking leadership and investor relations.
Across these roles, Kelly has developed a comprehensive understanding of the financial considerations that influence organizational performance and strategic decision-making. Her expertise spans credit risk assessment, financial analysis, commercial lending, asset management, investments, portfolio management, real estate valuation, and banking. She understands the importance of evaluating opportunities from multiple perspectives, balancing financial objectives with risk considerations, and recognizing how market conditions can influence business outcomes. This multidisciplinary experience allows her to approach organizational challenges with a combination of practical financial knowledge, analytical reasoning, and an appreciation for long-term value creation.
Kelly’s educational background complements her extensive professional experience and reflects an early commitment to developing both financial and entrepreneurial expertise. She earned a Master of Business Administration in Management and Entrepreneurship from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management, completing her studies in 2012. She also holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the Wisconsin School of Business at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where she studied Finance, Investment and Banking, and Real Estate and Urban Land Economics, graduating in 2002. Together, these academic experiences provided a foundation in financial management, business strategy, entrepreneurship, and real estate economics. Her education continues to inform a professional perspective that considers not only financial performance but also the leadership and strategic decisions required to build resilient organizations.
Beyond her corporate career, Kelly has demonstrated a meaningful commitment to community engagement, economic empowerment, and organizational service through board and committee participation. She served as a Board Member of MNCREW from January 2021 through December 2022, contributing her professional perspective within an organization connected to the commercial real estate community. Her involvement reflects an interest in supporting professional development, industry connections, and opportunities for individuals working in commercial real estate. This experience also provided an opportunity to apply her financial and business background in a governance-oriented setting beyond her traditional executive responsibilities.
Kelly further expanded her service experience as a Loan Committee Member with Amplio from March 2021 through November 2024. This role aligned closely with her extensive background in credit analysis, commercial lending, and financial evaluation, bringing her professional expertise into an economic empowerment context. Her committee participation reflects a willingness to contribute specialized knowledge to initiatives where financial judgment and responsible decision-making are important. Through this type of service, Kelly has demonstrated how experience developed in the private sector can also support organizations pursuing broader community and economic objectives.
Her commitment to service also includes participation in organizations focused on social well-being and health. Kelly served as a Board Member of Accord from January through November 2025, contributing her experience within a social services setting. During that same period, she served on the Health Equity Committee of the American Cancer Society, from November 2024 through November 2025. These experiences illustrate the breadth of her interests and her willingness to engage with missions extending beyond finance and real estate. They also reflect an appreciation for the role that organizational leadership, thoughtful resource allocation, and collaborative decision-making can play in addressing important community needs.
Kelly’s interests in health, wellness, and personal development extend into her life outside the workplace. She enjoys weightlifting and maintains an active interest in health, wellness, and beauty. These pursuits reflect her appreciation for discipline, consistency, self-improvement, and the long-term benefits of intentional effort. Her personal interests also complement her professional curiosity about the health and wellness industry, an area in which she is particularly interested in exploring future board and advisory opportunities. By maintaining interests beyond her core financial expertise, Kelly brings a broader perspective to conversations about business, leadership, consumer priorities, and organizational growth.
As she considers the next chapter of her professional journey, Kelly is particularly interested in serving on corporate boards and advisory boards where her experience can provide meaningful strategic value. Her preferred industries include finance, real estate, and health and wellness, although she remains open to opportunities across other sectors. While she is not seeking board roles with real estate investment companies, she recognizes that her financial knowledge, commercial experience, and leadership perspective can be relevant to organizations of varying sizes and stages of development. With no specific preference regarding employee headcount or annual recurring revenue, Kelly approaches potential opportunities with an emphasis on organizational fit, the ability to contribute, and the potential to support positive business outcomes.
Kelly’s interest in board service is grounded in a desire to put her experience and available time to productive use by helping organizations move forward. Having spent more than two decades working within financial institutions and commercial business environments, she understands the importance of disciplined oversight, sound financial planning, effective leadership, and the ability to evaluate both opportunities and risks. Her background positions her to offer informed perspectives on capital considerations, lending relationships, financial performance, risk management, and strategic growth. Her previous board and committee involvement also gives her an appreciation for the responsibilities associated with organizational stewardship and mission-driven decision-making.
What distinguishes Kelly as an executive and prospective board contributor is the breadth of her experience combined with her commitment to practical, constructive engagement. She has developed her career through progressive responsibilities in commercial real estate banking, senior commercial banking, relationship management, and investor relations, while also dedicating time to nonprofit and community-focused organizations. This combination provides a valuable foundation for contributing to boardroom discussions that require financial literacy, commercial awareness, stakeholder understanding, and strategic judgment. Her approach is grounded in the belief that organizations benefit from informed perspectives, responsible financial decisions, and leadership that remains focused on long-term results.
Looking ahead, Kelly Manke is motivated by the opportunity to help businesses and organizations scale in a positive, sustainable direction. She brings to this ambition a substantial career in finance, a strong educational foundation, experience serving on boards and committees, and a genuine interest in helping organizations achieve their goals. Whether contributing to discussions about financial strategy, business growth, organizational risk, or stakeholder relationships, Kelly seeks to be a thoughtful and engaged contributor whose experience translates into meaningful value. Her professional journey reflects a consistent theme: combining financial knowledge, strategic perspective, and purposeful service to support stronger organizations and lasting progress.
Character:
Kelly demonstrates a commitment to professional integrity, responsible decision-making, and meaningful service through her longstanding financial services career and involvement with community-focused organizations. Her dedication to economic empowerment, health equity, and organizational development reflects a values-driven approach to leadership that extends beyond traditional business objectives.
Knowledge:
With 24 years of experience across commercial banking, credit analysis, financial management, commercial real estate, and investor relations, Kelly possesses a broad foundation of technical and industry expertise. Her MBA in Management and Entrepreneurship, combined with her undergraduate education in finance, banking, and real estate economics, strengthens her ability to evaluate complex business issues through both financial and strategic perspectives.
Strategic:
Kelly brings an analytical mindset and an understanding of how financial decisions, capital considerations, market conditions, and organizational priorities influence long-term business performance. Her experience across major banking institutions, investor relations, and board and committee service positions her to contribute informed perspectives that support responsible growth, effective risk evaluation, and sustainable value creation.
Communication:
Her career in commercial banking, relationship management, and investor relations reflects the importance of building trust, understanding stakeholder priorities, and communicating effectively in complex professional environments. Her experience working across financial institutions and participating in boards and committees provides a foundation for collaborative dialogue, thoughtful engagement, and constructive contributions to organizational decision-making.
