Katie Mecklenburg

Director of Communications, Imua Family Services

Wailuku, HI 96793

Certifications · Degrees · Memberships

Degree Colorado State University - B.A.Sc. Member Association for Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Member Community Advisory Board for Hawaii Public Radio

Her Story

About Katie

Katie Mecklenburg is the Director of Communications at Imua Family Services, a nonprofit serving children and families across Maui, Lānaʻi, and Molokaʻi. In this role, she leads strategic communications, brand development, media outreach, and digital storytelling efforts, with a growing emphasis on elevating the organization’s clinical and early-intervention services. Her work focuses on reshaping public messaging to reflect the full scope of Imua’s impact, including preschool programs, newborn screenings, and occupational and physical therapy services, while strengthening community awareness and fundraising communications.

Her career path has been non-linear, spanning wellness, retail, and digital marketing. She began in yoga studio management with Island Power Yoga, where she developed early experience in promotion and community engagement, before moving into marketing and design work with Cake Media. She also served in retail leadership at Welzie Art and contributed to public media governance through the Community Advisory Board of Hawaii Public Radio, where she helped provide community perspectives on programming and outreach.

Katie holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Colorado State University. Her professional focus centers on strategic communications, audience-centered storytelling, social media strategy, and visual design, with a strong emphasis on adaptability in evolving digital landscapes. She brings over a decade of experience across marketing and communications roles, shaped by a commitment to clear messaging, community engagement, and mission-driven work.

Her Interview

Ten minutes with Katie

01What do you attribute your success to?

I attribute my success to my love of creativity and flexibility. What drew me to communications and marketing, and what I still love about my job today, is that it's always changing and requires you to be flexible - to change with what's happening and respond to what's happening. There might be an outline of what your day looks like, but you don't know what you're going to be working on because things change all the time, and I love that. I still get those same challenges now in an expanded capacity as Director of Communications, creating different strategic initiatives for fundraising and sharing about the entirety of the organization, not just events. I love being able to create as the primary part of my job - I mean, I need a checklist to get things done sometimes, but communications and marketing give me that opportunity to be really creative. Working alongside my current boss, who is a very visionary human being, and the incredible team I work with has also been key to my growth and success.

02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?

I don't know if I can remember the exact quote, but there was a season in my young life, probably when I was 24 or 25, where I was really married to my job and it was giving me a lot of stress. I had a mentor that gave me permission to turn off and disconnect, and that has served me really well throughout my career. I've used that framework to be able to manage the responsibilities while also giving myself freedom to not be married to my job, because I really, really believe in having a life outside of work and also staying really driven and focused and growing inside of work. I think that disconnecting - working when you're working and disconnecting when you're not working - is, for me, the best advice that I have gotten. It's not a quote, but it's just that essence of giving yourself space to disconnect to refill your own cup, so that when you're there, you're there, and when you're not, you can really be free.

03What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?

The values most important to me center around balance, creativity, and connection. I really, really believe in having a life outside of work while also staying driven and focused and growing inside of work - that balance of working when you're working and disconnecting when you're not is essential to me. I'm passionate about being outside and active - I'm an avid runner who's completed seven marathons, and I've been committed to practicing and teaching yoga for 20 years. I adopted my dog two years ago from the Maui Humane Society, and we love the beach, hiking, and running together - the islands are overflowing with opportunities to be outside, and that's really what I do in my free time. I'm also a news junkie who loves political science and reading the news, which connects to my work on the Community Advisory Board for Hawaii Public Radio. Right now, I'm really prioritizing connecting with women who are strong leaders, visionary, and want to be changemakers - women who want to elevate other women rather than creating competition. I've always worked alongside strong women throughout my career, and as I've stepped into leadership in a nonprofit structure where there are fewer women in leadership than men, I find it really important to connect with women lifting other women up.

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