Communication & Visitor Magazine

Kelly Butler Coe serves as vice president for Communication for the Columbia Union Conference, a position she was elected to in September 2023. In this capacity, she manages the day-to-day operations of the Communication Department, represents the Columbia Union at events and in collaborative leadership settings, and helps shape the organization’s editorial voice and strategic messaging. She also provides crisis communication leadership for the union and offers strategic support to conferences during sensitive or high-impact situations.

A graduate of Andrews University (Mich.), Kelly earned a degree in Digital Media in 1998. She joined the Columbia Union in 2000 as a graphic designer and assistant director for Communication and has since served in various leadership and creative roles, including associate director, communication director, art director and editor of the Visitor magazine, a position she assumed in March 2023.

In her role, Kelly focuses on project coordination and production, managing brand identity, developing web strategies, and crafting visual storytelling. She is passionate about collaborating with photographers, art-directing photo shoots, and researching and implementing emerging technologies that enable clear and effective communication.

Born in Hong Kong, Kelly was a “missionary kid,” spending her elementary years in Singapore. Her time in the Columbia Union began at Spencerville Junior Academy (now Spencerville Adventist Academy) in Silver Spring, Md., followed by two years at Highland View Academy in Hagerstown, Md., where she made lifelong friends and met her husband, Michael Coe, Jr.

In her free time, she enjoys playing tennis, watching classic movies from the 1940s and 1950s, and spending time with her family, Michael, and their friends.