Meet Scott Walkup, Meritan's Board Member
Scott Walkup, a current board member of Meritan, is a native Memphian and has lived in Midtown Memphis for the majority of his adult life. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Tennessee and a Master of City & Regional Planning Degree from the University of Memphis. He works for the Memphis and Shelby County Division of Planning & Development as the Administrator for the Shelby County Department of Housing. The Department provides critical affordable housing resources including down payment assistance loans, lead-based paint hazard reduction services, housing rehabilitation, financing for affordable housing development, and support for large-scale community initiatives like Resilient Shelby.
He is also a driving instructor with the Porsche Club of America - Mid-South Region teaching high-performance driving to individuals interested in learning how to safely handle their cars on road courses and race tracks. His garage includes two Porsche sports cars that he enjoys getting on the track including a vintage 911. Scott married his wife Paige at the Memphis Zoo fourteen years ago, and they enjoy traveling and cooking (especially smoking meat). They have a nine-year-old Siamese cat who rules the roost.
Fun fact: He has been on a Bigfoot Field Research Organization expedition.
Learn more about Scott and his involvement with Meritan by reading his interview below.
What makes our mission meaningful to you? - Meritan’s mission cannot be overstated because promoting independence and improving well-being throughout life's stages provide tremendous co-benefits to our community.
Why did you join Meritan's board of directors? - I wanted to use my professional skills to further Meritan's mission and to hopefully leverage my professional resources to benefit the community. Additionally, my personal experience with aging family members has elevated my desire to increase awareness of resources for seniors and the disabled in our community.
What are some of your prior board leadership experiences? - President of Cooper-Young Development Corporation where we were focused on providing affordable housing development in and around the Cooper-Young community.
Do you have personal aspirations that could be enhanced by board service? It is important to me to remain engaged as a volunteer across multiple sectors in our community. There are so many opportunities to support and address community needs and it is critical that we work together to improve our community.
What motivates you? Assisting individuals and families to find the resources they need to improve their quality of life.
Please share any positive experiences/memories of Meritan. The Meritan team acted as a critical referral source for my wife and her uncle during his end-of-life care. While Meritan was not able to directly provide services to her uncle, the team made several recommendations that assisted the family in determining the best path for her uncle since he did not fit the traditional care model.