Education

M.A., Mass Communication and Media Studies, San Diego State University
B.A., Communications, Roger Williams University

 

About Prof. Kim Marks

Kim Marks Malone is an accredited PR professional, a retired Navy Public Affairs officer, a part-time PR consultant, and a full-time Public Relations and Journalism Professor at the University of Memphis and the adviser for the university's student-run strategic communication firm, Meeman 901 Strategies.

Kim enlisted in the Navy in 1986 and was commissioned as a public affairs officer via Officer Candidate School in 1996. In her last Navy assignment, she commanded the Navy Office of Community Outreach, the only grassroots-level public affairs command in the Navy. She also managed issues on the Navy's National News Desk, led the public affairs team aboard the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN-68), oversaw communication for Navy operations and programs, worked overseas, and with submarines. Kim retired from the Navy after 28+ years of service and settled in East Memphis.

When she's not teaching public relations, she's busy helping Memphis small businesses and non-profits engage with their customers and tell their stories as an independent PR consultant. Her specialties include social media management, media relations, crisis communication, issues management, and organizational communication.

Kim is passionate about her adopted city. A graduate of Leadership Memphis, she serves on the boards of the Memphis Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and the Midtown Taekwondo Scholarship Fund, a nonprofit she helped establish in 2012 that provides opportunities for Memphis-area youth to participate in martial arts training, camps, and competitions. She's a mom of four teenagers, a second-degree black belt and a Steel Cowgirl who loves taking long rides on her Harley.