Kelli Bechtel was born in Detroit, MI 1995 and has since lived in Traverse City, MI. In 2013 she began attending Northwestern Michigan College where she transferred after two years to the drawing program of Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University in fall of 2015. Currently, she lives and works in Grand Rapids, MI while she works toward her BFA degree in the Drawing program and graduates in the spring of 2019. Her work has been featured in a Leelanau County magazine titled Exposures Magazine on the inside and back cover from 2010 to 2012. Her work focuses on the conservation of endangered animals that are at risk of going extinct from humans exploiting of them for pride or sport.