MEET THE TEAM: Kim Herig-Lemma
Navigating a career can be tough without experienced and caring professionals to guide the way. Meet Jeff Winton Associates (JWA) executive and agency-wide assistant, Kimberly Herig-Lemma, who was fortunate to have supervisors who recognized her talents and helped her discover her true passion: communications.
Kimberly, known by most as Kim, was raised and still lives in Roxbury Township, a quiet, unassuming suburb in northern New Jersey.
Kim was always a hard worker. During high school, she had jobs at a family-owned weight loss center, a clothing retailer and a store that sold videos and games. While attending County College of Morris, Kim landed her first corporate position in the Human Resources department of Warner Lambert’s Parke-Davis division. As time went by, Kim wanted to explore other employment opportunities, so she went to work for General Chemical and then Contact Electronics. Missing the culture at Warner-Lambert, Kim returned and held administrative positions in the Adams U.S.A. Sales Merchandising and Sales Forecasting departments followed by her role as assistant to the senior director of Parke-Davis State Government Affairs.
Not uncommon in the corporate world, Warner-Lambert was the target of an acquisition. After Pfizer bought the company, Kim assumed temporary positions at Pharmacia. Her last assignment was on one of Jeff Winton’s communications teams working with Mary-Fran Faraji, who is currently part of JWA. Kim’s diligence and organizational skills were rewarded with a permanent position. Kim says, “It was the first time I truly felt like I was appreciated as a valuable member of a team.” This boost in self-confidence even trickled into her personal life as Kim independently purchased her first home. As fate would have it, her time at Pharmacia was short-lived because of another Pfizer acquisition. However, the experience made a lasting impression, and Kim never strayed from the communications field.
Thanksgiving is family time:
Kim with stepson Josh and husband Chris.
Thanks to a friend and former Pharmacia colleague, Kim learned about an opportunity to work for Novartis Pharmaceuticals, supporting the internal and external communications teams. Over the next five years, her administrative role grew with more responsibilities, which included overseeing external agency budgets and reconciling each month’s spending as well as planning town hall meetings, brand celebrations and events such as Take Your Child to Work Day and Community Partnership Day.
The opportunity arose to work once again with Jeff. He was hired as a consultant at Bayer Healthcare to help the company reorganize its communications department following the merger with Schering AG (Berlex). Jeff thought Kim’s expertise and skill set would be a good fit for the team he was building.
While at Bayer, Kim expanded upon her special events experience, assuming responsibility for the planning and execution of programs such as the Toys for Tots Drive, annual holiday parties, town halls and (déjà vu) Take Your Child to Work Day. For several years, she also managed the budget for both internal and external teams – a task most people seemed to dread but she had a knack for. Upon discovering Kim’s love of photography, one of her supervisors encouraged her to become the onsite photographer for executive portraits and meetings. Her love of writing and gift for editing garnered her the added responsibility for the company’s East Coast Daily News digital publication. Another perk to being at Bayer was reuniting with former Pharmacia colleague Rosemarie Yancosek and collaborating with Susan Yarin, both now JWA team members.
Kim, seen here getting chewed on by a litter of 10 coonhound puppies she fostered from birth.
After 11 years of service, Kim left Bayer as a result of their downsizing initiative which resulted in thousands of positions being eliminated over the span of a couple years. With the encouragement of her long-time partner and soon-to-be husband, Chris Lemma, Kim decided the time was right for her to take a break from corporate life and focus on home improvements and animal rescue.
In early 2023, Jeff contacted Kim with an opportunity she couldn’t refuse. She joined Jeff Winton Associates and Rural Minds, the nonprofit organization that Jeff founded which aims to raise awareness for the high rate of mental illness in rural America and provide access to life-saving resources.
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Kim (center) with Jeff Winton and JWA teammate Rosemarie Yancosek during a recent get-together in New Jersey.
“Working with Jeff again was the best decision I ever made,” says Kim. In addition to administrative support, Kim reviews Rural Minds speaker requests and ensures Jeff has everything he needs to be prepared for each event. On the agency side, Kim provides JWA teams with proofreading, presentation assistance, editing, finance support and even helped develop JWA’s travel and expense reporting policy and guidelines.
When she’s not working, Kim is very much a homebody. “I love spending time with my husband,” she says. “He is my rock, supporting all my endeavors, no matter how crazy they may seem – be it fostering close to 200 dogs, building a koi pond, raising monarch butterflies or landscaping our yard.” During the pandemic, Chris and Kim decided it was time to make their 11-year partnership a marriage during a quiet ceremony in their home with only their moms, Chris’ son and their dogs present. “One of the best gifts Chris has given me is the ability to become a stepmother. I have watched Josh grow from an adorable little 7-year-old boy into a talented 22-year-old man with dreams and aspirations. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for him.”
Kim loves to landscape in her yard. Here, she relaxes near her koi pond with fur baby Eva.
As Kim reflects on her personal and professional life, she is grateful for her loving family, furry children, collaborative coworkers and activities that bring her joy. “I never thought it could be possible to be as happy with my life as I am now.”