How Service Becomes Strategy at Red Wing Shoe Company
Kim L.
Corporate Social Responsibility Manager
Part of our family since 2019
How Service Becomes Strategy at Red Wing Shoe Company
We are excited to introduce you to Kim—who, in the Spring of 2022, made an internal move from a marketing role to become Red Wing Shoe Company’s first-ever corporate social responsibility manager. In this latest employee spotlight, Kim shares how Red Wing Shoe’s core value of “Community” will transform into a social responsibility strategy and become her purpose-built career.
It All Started Outdoors
A mom, Canadian native, and marathon runner, Kim loves being outdoors. “I love being outside with my family; whether it’s running, hiking, biking, or walking the neighborhood trails, I cannot think of a better way to spend my time than just being outside,” she reflects. Nature calms her mind, connects her with family, her Golden Retriever, her community—and enlivens her inner sense of service.
In fact, before joining Red Wing Shoes, Kim spent more than a decade in the non-profit world, most recently in fundraising and development for the American Hiking Society. It was there she first met the team at Red Wing Shoes’ Vasque outdoor brand, although she had been wearing Vasque hiking boots for years.
The Stars Aligned
As fate would have it, Kim was looking to take her service orientation out of the non-profit sector and into the corporate world. She wanted to find a new organization with values that aligned with her own personal values. “My career has always been about service and community,” she shares.
And, so Kim found herself in a conversation with Vasque’s director of marketing and relocating from Washington, DC to Minneapolis, Minnesota. In 2019, she joined Red Wing Shoes as a community marketing specialist. A great fit, this role allowed her to connect with people about the importance of getting outside while representing a global outdoor brand.
Inspired to Pursue Her Passion
“The chance to succeed while performing meaningful work that positively impacts others,” is the mantra that gets Kim out of bed in the morning. So, it’s no surprise that she went above and beyond in her marketing role, creating strategies to execute Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) within the Vasque business and the broader Red Wing Shoe Company marketing team. Kim’s passion for service drew such a clear connection between DEIB, and how the brand shows up in the world, that she was inspired and encouraged by leadership to keep pursuing her vision.
To Bring Together 117 Years of Good
Kim’s work in DEIB was fueled by collaboration both inside and outside of Red Wing Shoes. But it was direct encouragement from leadership combined with her personal long-term career plan that created a distinct “a-ha” moment, opening her eyes to the big picture potential of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). And, also, to an internal gap that begged to be filled.
“We’re a 117-year-old company doing a lot of meaningful work that falls under the umbrella of corporate social responsibility,” says Kim. “Our purpose is built around the very idea of it.” Standing right in front of her was an untapped gold mine of good—Red Wing Shoes has invested in communities from day one:
Since 1905, there has been a legacy of making a difference in people’s lives.
A sustainability task force brings an environmental focus from across the organization (of which Kim is a key contributor).
Employees regularly volunteer for a variety of causes.
There is a corporate matching program.
The Red Wing Foundation exists to improve the lives and communities in which our employees and business partners live and work.
What was missing was a strategy to tie all the social good together and chart a course for the future. And so, Kim presented the idea of forming a CSR function to leadership and was offered the opportunity to build the function and lead the strategy, reporting to Allison Gettings, Red Wing’s first female president in July 2022.
And Build a Legacy for the Future
So, you may be asking yourself where this new CSR strategy will take every single employee, customer, and community member of the Red Wing Shoe Company? “It’s about bringing together all of our CSR efforts with focus and being intentional about how we integrate them across the business. To make sure it’s not just a side of the desk thing or an afterthought,” advises Kim. Though, perhaps Gettings said it best when she announced Kim’s promotion …
“This dedicated organization is designed to help us responsibly maximize our impact as a company, to innovate, and provide value to the customers and communities we serve, while we position it for the next generation.”
This means, for the entire Red Wing Shoe Company family, the good works that built our legacy for over a century, will continue to grow and evolve for decades to come.
Join a company that makes a difference.
Search for jobs at Red Wing Shoe Company.