Kimberly Reason
Macy's Northwest
DP – Kimberly, thank you for joining us this week. Please tell our readers what’s your current title?
KR – I’m the Divisional Vice President, Corporate Communications & Media Relations for Macy’s Northwest.
DP - How would you define what you do in four sentences or less?
KR - I direct internal and external communications for the Northwest division of Macys, Inc., formerly Federated Department Stores. This includes delivering communications to all employees in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Utah and Wyoming, and developing and executing editorial placement strategies in the same six states. I also serve as Chair of our United Way workplace giving campaign and Co-Chair of Macy’s African American Employee Resource Group.
DP - What do you enjoy most in your current role?
KR - Working with internal and external business partners to tell Macy’s story.
DP - Is your current role what you designed for yourself while in college, or was this off your original path?
KR - Yes, although I arrived through somewhat of an indirect path. After obtaining my degree in Philosophy and Public Affairs, I pursued a career in human services and nonprofit executive management for 15 years. Following this, I parlayed my management and community advocacy skills into a Manager of Stores Training position for Macy’s (then The Bon Marché). From there I leveraged my involvement on workplace improvement committees to my position in Corporate Communications.
DP - What were some of the hurdles you’ve faced in your career and how did you overcome them?
KR - Building trusting relationships with mentors in high-level leadership positions (regardless of industry) has been extremely important. I have been able to rely on them for support, perspective and advice in navigating the tricky and turbulent waters of the various arenas in which I have worked. Being open to their feedback has also been essential, as has been finding constructive lessons in negative experiences – and then letting go of these experiences.
DP - What advice would you give others regarding mapping out their career path in the world of merchandising?
KR - First, be sure to spend a good portion of time working in stores as an associate and/or sales manager. Retail companies need people who can supplement their analytical knowledge of the business with the day-to-day, hands-on operational side of the in-store experience.
Second, develop relationships with people who hold different positions in retail – Store Manager, Human Resources, Regional Managers, Visual, Operations, Loss Prevention, etc.. Obtain has much hands-on knowledge of the various operational and in-store functions as possible to determine what resonates most with your skills set, behavior style and career goals.
DP - What’s next on the horizon for you?
KR - I would like to continue maximizing the potential of editorial placement as a powerful supplement to paid-for advertising/marketing. This includes driving cause-related, pubic relations, diversity and other programs that actively extend the mission of company into its employee and community network.
DP - I understand you’re quite the jazz artist. Tell me what or who inspired you to perform and when’s your next performance?
KR - I’ve always loved music and singing. I took piano as a child and sang in church choirs. I also grew up listening to my mother sing while she curled her hair, even though I didn’t understand then the significance of her having grown up on Jackson Street where Seattle’s famous jazz scene took root. Also, being born in the Sixties, I was raised on all the Greats – from Nancy Wilson, Dakota Staton and Wes Montgomery to The Supremes, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, The Temptations, The Stylistics – the list is endless.
As I developed my career in the human services and then the corporate arena, the urge to sing only grew stronger. One year, while on a 3-day white-water rafting trip in Oregon with a friend, I decided to pursue music as a way to express a deeper part of myself that had no outlet anywhere else. I also felt compelled to keep alive this extraordinary art form that was created by African Americans. I am extremely proud of this legacy, and very grateful to be a part of it in my own small way. Jazz music and music in general bring me such joy – singing it, sharing it with other musicians and appreciative fans, learning deeper levels of it.
My next show is with Cocoa Martini at the Triple Door at 7 pm on Sunday, December 16th. I’ll be performing with two other wonderful Seattle vocalists – Karen Shivers and Mercedes Nicole – in a 7-piece band. This show will be a special holiday treat—we’ll be doing jazz standards as well as pop and R&B. Tickets can be purchased at ww.thetripledoor.com.
DP - Wow, you’re such an insightful and gifted individual Kimberly, thank you for giving us a view of your world and remember us at Mosaic when you’re at the Grammys!
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