Kim Grimshaw Bolton returns to MPC as Communications Director
Proving that one can indeed go "home" again, Kim Grimshaw Bolton has returned to the Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC) as communications director. Bolton left the Planning Council in June of 2000 to make her fortune in the world of e-commerce. Although she did not, she did gain invaluable experience in Internet technology and marketing — skills she will use to benefit MPC as she manages media relations, publications and Internet communications.
"We are delighted to welcome back Kim to lead MPC's expanded communications team," said MarySue Barrett, president of the Planning Council. "During her earlier tenure, from 1998 to 2000, she advanced the way we think about and use communications. Because every element of our policy agenda has some kind of external component, it's wonderful Kim can build on what she already started."
Bolton brings with her more than a decade of experience in journalism and nonprofit communications, ranging from CNN to Travelers & Immigrants Aid (now known as the Heartland Alliance) to the Chicago Reader to the National Equity Fund. As director of production services for coolsavings.com, she managed development of Web site and e-mail content for the Internet marketing operation. Prior to returning to MPC, she briefly served as manager of communications for the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission.
Bolton succeeds John McCarron, former Chicago Tribune writer, who served as MPC's vice president of strategy and communications from August 2000 to January 2001. In addition to continuing his monthly columns in the Tribune and teaching a class at Roosevelt University, McCarron has assumed the role of stay-at-home dad.
"I look forward to working with MPC's incredibly talented professional staff and volunteers to not only promote the organization, but advance our issues -- from statewide tax reform to regional freight transportation investments to local zoning and planning innovations," said Bolton.
"MPC has achieved important programmatic and legislative victories over the last 18 months. When you consider the high stakes of sensible growth debates and their impact on our region's competitiveness and livability, I knew this was the right move for me. In that sense, I see this as an entirely new opportunity," she continued.
Bolton, who is expecting her third child in June, currently lives with her husband and children in Chicago's South Shore neighborhood. She is getting to know the wider region first-hand as she searches for a new home in other parts of the six-county area.
Founded in 1934, MPC is a nonprofit, nonpartisan group of business and civic leaders committed to serving the public interest through the promotion and implementation of sensible planning and development policies necessary for a world-class Chicago region.
Kim Grimshaw Bolton can be reached at 312.863.6020, or at kbolton@metroplanning.org.
To learn more about MPC and its programs, visit www.metroplanning.org.