While most people dream about "having it all", wildly successful entrepreneur, business owner, philanthropist, and proud mother Kimberly Bakker lives that dream daily. As a professional Event Planner, and owner of her namesake company, Kimberly Bakker Events, she provides bespoke event production services, public relations, quality control, and business consulting services. With an impressive resume that culminated in the realization of her entrepreneurial spirit, Kimberly Bakker is a multi-faceted professional with a strong insight into the hospitality niche.
Childhood And Family
Kimberly Quinlan Bakker was born in San Francisco, and raised north of the city in a quaint town called Ross, which lies in Marin County. The daughter of Kaylea Bakker and Robert Quinlan Jr., Kimberly spent a vast amount of time outdoors with family on their cattle ranch. Ross, a 1.6 square mile town, provided an idyllic upbringing for Bakker, and served as a multi-generational home for the Bakker family. Since their arrival in Ross from Missouri in 1848, the Bakker family contributed to the rich history of the town. Kimberly's great great-grandfather, Coleman Walker Graves, in fact, served as San Francisco's Assistant District Attorney.
Education
Kimberly Bakker graduated with honors from Santa Catalina High School, and subsequently relocated to Los Angeles. There, she attended The University Of Southern California, where she majored in Business. Throughout her university studies, Bakker was involved in many projects, and achieved impressive feats in addition to her studies. During her time at USC, Bakker volunteered as a teacher, and served as the Women's Advocate on the Panhellenic Board. Impressively, she graduated from USC with a Bachelor's Degree in Business in 1992, and was recognized as one of the year's Outstanding Seniors by the University.
Early Career and Kimberly Bakker Events
During her collegiate studies, hard-working Kimberly Bakker was engaged as a full-time Sales And Marketing Director for L'ermitage Hotels, etching her experience in the high end hospitality niche. Post matriculation, Bakker spent the next eight years working as an Event Planner for high-tech firms, garnering the skills needed to eventually follow her entrepreneurial spirit. Throughout this time, she combined her innate characteristics and attention to detail, along with newly perfected skills, and parlayed them into creating a successful following.
In 2000, Bakker founded her namesake event management company, Kimberly Bakker Events. The company quickly set itself apart due to Bakker's intensely personal touches, attention to the finest of details, and atmosphere created at each KBE soiree. With corporate clients ranging from Sutter Hill Ventures to LVMH (Dom Perignon, Louis Vuitton, Moet & Chandon), Bakker's client list quickly became impressive, coveted, and celebrated.
From inception, Bakker's company focused on boutique event planning, as well as leveraging pertinent business experience to provide personalized marketing solutions, quality control, and public relations for business clients. These additions allowed the company to become well-known as being a one-stop shop for creating a particular ambiance through all forms of hospitality services.
Three years after Bakker created Kimberly Bakker Events, the firm provided services on behalf of the City of San Francisco to create the famed Moet Cup, San Francisco's premier sailing regatta. In 2005, Bakker was appointed to serve as the San Francisco Protocol Officer by Mayor Gavin Newsom, where she served under Protocol Chief Charlotte Mailliard Shultz, directly in the Mayor's Office. Throughout this time, Bakker was heavily involved in the production of the week-long World Environment Day celebrations. Additionally, within this role, she managed all consular affairs, and presented material on behalf of the Mayor.
Notably, in 2008, Bakker served as the Director of the San Francisco Fall Antiques Show, a largely impressive undertaking. The event was touted as one of the Top Ten Antiques Shows worldwide, and within this role, Bakker was responsible for several millions of dollars in sponsorships. With the wide scale success of the event, Bakker earned her stripes in the Director's position, and went on to serve in authority driven roles throughout her professional, and philanthropic endeavors.
Philanthropy and Personal Life
In addition to her ongoing impressive professional gains, Kimberly Bakker has continued to devote her limited spare time to various philanthropic endeavors. As a member of the Society Of California Pioneers, Bakker honors her family's rich heritage in the San Francisco region. As her family's history played a large part in her own choice to settle down in Ross, Bakker's involvement in this organization serves as means for continuing the rich legacy of her family.
Bakker serves on the Board of Directors for Children of Shelters, and Blue Star Music Camp. She also devotes her time on the committees of several local non-profit associations that aide to assist animals, homeless populations, and at-risk youth.
In 2013, Bakker, along with friend Lauri Levenfeld, founded The Project For Women, an organization that assists women in planning varying events. From building confidence by assisting women in finding the most suitable clothing, to showcasing product lines from local entrepreneurs, The Project for Women encourages women to work together in order to accomplish their goals. By creating vision boards, and creating tangible goals, members receive support, encouragement, and confidence building tools to turn those goals into reality.
Three years after the launch of The Project For Women, Bakker founded The Project for Girls, focusing on building a community for girls to thrive within. Girls from all walks of life are interviewed to learn about their unique individual needs. Through candid interviews, members learn about the vast differences between the teen experience, and provide support, empathy, leadership, and understanding to those who may be experiencing difficulties. Thus, a safe space exists for young females to express themselves, a feat that Bakker hopes will inspire girls.
As the caring mother of a little girl, named Quinn, Bakker's actions are often shaped by her desire to shape the world for her daughter. Professionally, Bakker speaks on the topic of being able to divide time between being a female entrepreneur, and a present mother figure to a young child. Her thoughtful points on the topic make her a leading source of support for working mothers, and her candid recollections resonate with many people.