Meet Kim Strickland, Meritan's Board Chair
Kim Strickland is Vice President and Senior Art Director of Kelley & Associates Advertising in Memphis, TN. Currently, she serves as Meritan’s Board Chair of our Board of Directors.
She creates the vision for client communications and cultivates the talent of junior staff. She also specializes in the latest marketing technologies, driving the agency’s continued growth in the digital age. Kim has produced creative communications that have shaped the brand experiences of Memphis’ foremost business, government, and nonprofit organizations. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts with and emphasis in Graphic Design from Mississippi State University. Kim and her husband, David, have one daughter, Cailey. She enjoys low carb cooking, wine, home organizing, and looks forward to traveling again once the pandemic is over. Learn more about Kim and her involvement with Meritan by reading her interview below.
1. What makes our mission meaningful to you? Meritan’s mission is meaningful to me because they help people of all ages, ensuring their basic needs are met. Over the past years, I’ve learned just how compassionate and devoted the leadership team is to serving our community and surrounding communities and I’m proud to be a part of it.
2. Why did you join Meritan’s board of directors? When I joined Meritan’s board of directors in 2017, I was looking for ways to be more actively involved and give back to my community. I knew very little about Meritan before joining the board and wanted to help them increase their brand exposure through my marketing and design background. While serving on the board I’ve met many wonderful new people and expanded my network.
3. What are some of your prior board leadership experiences? Meritan is the first board that I have served on. Serving on one board at a time allows me to focus more of my time and resources. Through my work with Kelley & Associates Advertising, I have worked with many local non-profits and I believe that experience only strengthens my role on the board at Meritan.
4. Do you have personal aspirations that could be enhanced by board service? Helping to improve to the quality of life of all people regardless of their race or economic background has always been something important to me. Serving on Meritan’s board has improved my leadership skills, forced me to step outside my comfort zone and allowed me to help meet critical needs to improve our community.
5. What motivates you? Seeing a company succeed motivates me. Being part of building a brand from the ground up and seeing that brand go on to succeed is very rewarding and motivating. Whether it is designing the user experience on a website or creating a Facebook Ad campaign, I strive to fulfill the user’s needs and provide positive experiences that keep users loyal to a product or brand. On a personal note, my daughter motivates me every day. I strive to make the world a better place for her, which means composting, recycling, conservation and teaching her to be compassionate.
6. Please share any positive experiences/memories of Meritan. Two of my favorite memories of Meritan were the groundbreaking and ribbon cutting of their new corporate office building. I loved seeing the hard work of the capital campaign come to life, which provided a beautiful and functional workspace for their hardworking team.