Louisiana native, Kelia R. Bazile, was born February 8, 1967 in New Orleans, Louisiana and grew up in Vacherie, Louisiana. The wife and mother of three children attended public schools and graduated from St. James High School in 1985 in the Top Ten of her class. After graduating high school, Kelia studied criminal justice at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. In 1986 she left Louisiana and moved to Dallas, Texas.
Upon relocation, Kelia transferred to Richland Junior College in Richardson, Texas where she received an associate’s degree in Business Administration in 1993. Kelia advanced her education further by earning two degrees from Dallas Baptist University (DBU) in Dallas, Texas, including a Bachelor of Applied Business degree (1995). She worked a full-time job while she earned her Master of Business Administration degree from DBU in 2004.
Kelia joined Taco Bell as an hourly team member for a summer job in 1984. Taco Bell is under the umbrella of the largest quick service restaurant concept in the world, YUM BRANDS, INC. Kelia soon saw how her Taco Bell job could turn out to be much more. Subsequently, she applied herself to understanding the concepts driving Taco Bell and was rewarded several positions.
In March 2002, Kelia became Market Coach and reported to Region Coach Mike Dzura. Because of her effective leadership skills, Kelia was considered one of the most effective leaders in the company and was given the nick name “Tough Love” by Mike Dzura! From 2002 – 2004, after leading the region with an outstanding performance, Kelia was awardeda trip to Hawaii withother top performers.
In 2003, Kelia was featured in the Dallas Morning News “Success Stories” where readers learned where she sat on the corporate ladder, which was three levels from the Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
In July 2004 Kelia was named Franchise Business Coach, with accountabilities that were to include building operational capability of Above Restaurant Leaders (ARL), aligning support resources for franchise owners against critical needs, and providing guidance on performance levels.
On April 4, 2007 Kelia Bazile was named by National Business Leader, Tim Morrison, to succeed Jini Foust as Region Coach in the Gulf Coast Region, where she was accountable for over 500 restaurants – both corporate and franchise – thus making her not only the First African-American Female Region Leader, but also the First African-American to lead a region in Taco Bell’s 45-year history. Kelia credited her longevity at Taco Bell to never forgetting the words of her former supervisor, “Taco Bell is a people’s business, we just happen to be serving tacos!”
Due to the struggling economy and job cuts in February 2009, Kelia was named to the newly-created position of DMA Operations Leader. With the new title, she was assigned to the Oklahoma area; but also responsible for revamping the struggling Taco Bell restaurants on the Louisiana and the Mississippi Gulf Coast from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.
In 2012, Kelia left Taco Bell to pursue other opportunities to broaden her knowledge, so that she can achieve higher horizons. Ultimately, she decided to take on a position as Joint Venture Partner (JVP) at Carrabba’s Italian Grill, under the umbrella of Bloomin’ Brands, INC., which is one of the largest casual dining concepts in the world under the leadership of Elizabeth Smith, President and CEO.
Today, Kelia is a member of Florida Diversity Council, an organization that is committed to transforming our workplace communities into environments where people are valued for their uniqueness and differences, and are confident that their contributions matter. Kelia is also a member on the Business Advisory Committee at Rasmussen College, where they are committed to helping others prepare for successful careers; and she is a beloved teen mentor who works with community organizations to “create a better place to live”.