Brendan Kelly is a Non-Resident Fellow on Chinese Economy and Technology at the Asia Society Policy Institute's Center for China Analysis. He most recently served as Director for China Economics on the National Security Council staff from June 2023 to July 2024, where he was responsible for coordinating U.S. government economic policy issues, technology controls, and engagement related to China.

From 2018 to 2023, he served at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, including as Acting Head of International Relations and Country Risk, after leading the bank’s analysis and engagement on Asia. Previously he served in several China and Asia-focused roles at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, including as Treasury Attache and Deputy Attache in Beijing (2014–2018), in the Office of International Banking and Securities Markets, as part of the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue, and as intelligence advisor for East Asia. Brendan also worked as China Country Director in the Office of the Secretary of Defense and as a Legislative Aide in the Office of Senate Majority Leader William H. Frist.

Brendan holds a BA in social studies from Harvard University and an MA in international economics and China studies from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. He is a Life Member at the Council on Foreign Relations and a Fellow in the U.S.-Japan Leadership Program.