Meet Kellee McQuinn

If you’ve attended any major event in the Coachella Valley over the last few years, there’s a good chance you were dancing to music chosen by DJ Mod Girl, also know as Kellee McQuinn.

When we caught up with McQuinn recently, she had just wrapped up an exhausting Modernism Week schedule. “It was so fun,” she said. “But it was two to three events a day for pretty much two weeks straight.”

Aside from Modernism Week, McQuinn has DJed galas, private parties, holiday events at the Living Desert, and ribbon cuttings — we even spotted her doing her thing outside Acrisure Arena before the recent Harry Styles concert.

Though her DJ Mod Girl persona keeps McQuinn booked and busy, she also juggles a day job as a children’s television producer. That career began with a company she founded in 2001 called Kid Tribe — a music and dance-focused program, which started small at after-school functions, summer camps, and parks and recreation departments in the Los Angeles area.

The interactive program soon became an international childhood obesity prevention program that took her to classrooms around the world. To further spread her message of dance, movement and fun, she started writing songs and making follow-along music videos for schools in 2005. “I was a little ahead of the game,” she said.

“I worked with five million kids, 30,000 to 40,000 kids a month,” she said, adding that she even performed at the White House throughout the Obama administration during the Easter Egg Roll, in partnership with Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! initiative.

Get to know Kellee better below, and make sure to read Kendall Balchan's complete story here.

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Age: Timeless

Occupation: DJ/Television Producer

First job: Babysitting was probably my first job, but my first real job for a paycheck was either selling french fry machines or being a beer cart girl on a golf course.

Neighborhood: Sunset Park

Time in the desert: Since 2017

What brought you here? My grandfather lived here, so I had been coming here since I was a kid. Then my mom moved out here in the ‘90s, and I continued visiting until I decided to move out here to help my mom with some health challenges.

What keeps you here? The people, the parties, the lifestyle.

Any family here? My mom still lives here.

Favorite time of the year: Modernism Week: I consider that a whole holiday season. I do love summer. People think I’m weird, but I especially love summer nights.

How do you beat the heat? Going in the swimming pool

Personal philosophy: Dance your way through life, and keep dancing even if you don’t like the song, or don’t like your partner. You just have to keep dancing.

What's the biggest issue facing our community? It’s really sad to see the drug and homelessness crisis. I know it’s a national and international crisis and it’s so complicated. How do you overcome an issue that is so structural?

Favorite place to eat: Eight4Nine, Spencer’s, and John Henry. I’m an ambiance person and I’m a sucker for a patio.

Favorite place to go or thing to do: Day trip to a day spa hot spring, and cocktail parties with my friends by the pool. I have to balance my exuberance with self-care.

What would you tell people about Palm Springs that they might not already know? This is the most vibrant, welcoming community. It’s so full of life and there’s such a rich history of the Golden Era of Hollywood. There’s a certain “je ne said quoi” about Palm Springs that makes it cool.

Guilty pleasure: Shopping! Buying clothes, shoes, and music. Especially vintage shopping.

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Profiles is a Sunday series helping you get to know your neighbors who don’t usually make the news. Know a neighbor who should be profiled? Email editor@thepalmspringspost.com. Looking for the Daily Briefing? That returns on Monday.

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