Whitney Koelling

Public Policy Specialist
wkoelling@chamberbloomington.org

I am an O’Neill Fellow working as a Public Policy Specialist for the Chamber’s Advocacy Team. Much of my work so far has involved following state and local politics and their effect on our business members. I have also very much enjoyed getting to know the members of the Chamber Advocacy Council and the Legislative Council.

I grew up in a historic home in Old Northside District in downtown Indianapolis. My family recently moved to the Lake Monroe area a few years ago and I am proud to call Bloomington home. I studied Political Science at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio. After graduating college, I taught English as a Foreign Language in Thailand for a year before serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the South Pacific for 2 years. Now, I am about to finish my first year in the MPA program at O’Neill SPEA.

Outside of work I love to kayak on Lake Monroe, practice yoga, eat at many of Bloomington’s delicious local restaurants, and take my Rottweiler puppy to Switchyard Park. Something I have recently learned is gaining so much insight from the DEI training sessions that the Chamber has offered through the Guarden. Nichelle Whitney is amazing! 

The best advice I have ever been given was “To be interesting, you have to be interested” – this advice has taken me to 25+ countries in Asia, the Middle East, and the South Pacific. Fun fact about me: I am going to Brazil for the summer with a group of MPA students to work with the university in Brasilia and possibly the Brazilian government.