Keelan is of Ngāti Tukorehe, Ngāti Raukawa and Ngāti Porou decent. His educational background has been with Te Wananga o Aotearoa and Te Wananga o Raukawa where he has gained several qualifications in Mātauranga Māori, Te Reo Māori and in Business Management.

Keelan spent 18 years working for his iwi ‘Te Runanga O Raukawa’ aka ‘Raukawa Whanau Ora’ in positions such as Māori Mental Health Community Support Worker, Family Start Worker, AOD Community Support Worker and Kairaranga-a-Whanau. Keelan started with E Tū Whānau in 2020 as a Senior Advisor and is now the Team Leader for E Tu Whānau at the Ministry of Social Development.

Keelan is passionate about giving back to the community and undertakes an array of community roles. Current roles include Chair of ‘Te Waka Whaiora Trust Porirua’, Chair of ‘Mana O Te Tangata Trust’ in Palmerston North. He holds a Minister of Education appointment on the ‘Otaki Porirua Trust Board’, current board member on ‘Te Menenga Pai, Nga Whare Hauora Trust’, in Wellington. He is active member on his Marae Ngati Tukorehe as a speaker on the paepae. At a national level, Keelan was extensively involved with Te Runanga O Aotearoa for nine years as a kaiako and is currently Kaumatua for Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki O Aotearoa, the New Zealand Nurses Organisation and is a Kaiwhakaruruhau-a-Iwi with Te Korowai Aroha O Aotearoa.