Description:
Kelli Houston reflects on a childhood shaped by secrecy, identity, and resilience, tracing her path from hiding as a young lesbian to finding humor, purpose, and self-worth in her life's journey.
Brief description: Kelli Houston is an award-winning healthcare executive, social justice advocate, and comedian with nearly two decades of experience in health and human services. She has led major Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Health Equity initiatives across organizations including Seattle Children's Hospital and Kaiser Permanente. She is currently an Equity Consultant for the Community Health Plan of Washington. Born in Reno, Nevada, she now lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. Kelli holds an MBA and a Women in Leadership certification from Cornell University.
Review Quotes:
Kelli Houston's The Unintentional Comedian is a bold, brilliant memoir filled with heart, humor, and hard-won wisdom. She writes with courage and compassion, inviting readers to reflect, laugh, and heal alongside her. Her story is a powerful reminder that real leadership begins with vulnerability. This memoir doesn't just inspire-it changes you.- Meredith Anastasio, JD, Management Executivewww.maevents.info
"Reading The Unintentional Comedian feels like being welcomed into the heart of someone who has turned her life's challenges into purpose. Houston writes with bravery, compassion, and authenticity, offering stories that uplift and inspire. A beautiful tribute to justice, love, and the strength of the human spirit."- Sue Orchard, Psy.D, Educator
In this deeply personal and powerful memoir, Kelli takes us through her journey as a Black queer woman navigating family, identity, and an evolving career in equity and inclusion. With warmth, wit, and fearless honesty, she reflects on private and public challenges, career successes and setbacks, and the moments that tested her resolve and identity. This is a story of becoming-of rising through challenge, finding laughter and healing, and ultimately, love.- Shawna Unger, DEIB Executive Consultant, Allen & Unger Consultants
The Unintentional Comedian tells Kelli Houston's personal and professional journey with vulnerability and honesty. Her relatable stories offer an authentic look at an equity champion's work and her grief over losing her parents. A humorous, gripping, and passionate account by a survivor I am proud to know.- Pleasant Radford Jr., Health Equity Leader
Who are we? Why are we here? In The Unintentional Comedian, Kelli Houston explores these timeless questions with humor, wit, and unflinching vulnerability. With quiet strength, she revisits a turbulent childhood, honors her father's memory, and stands up for traumatized children in emergency rooms. We grieve with her, celebrate with her, and grow with her. A tribute to the power of small acts of kindness and a celebration of a woman standing firmly in her truth.- Melanie Gloster, Mental Health Advocate
"Kelli is such a spectacular storyteller. Imagine sitting next to your best friend on a park bench, losing yourselves in stories of life-this is the feeling you'll have reading The Unintentional Comedian."- Edwin Lindo, JD, Author, Educator, Scholar, Cultural Worker