Testimonials

Professional, cordial and collaborative…those are words that I would use to describe my experience in working with Jan McKay & Associates. In 2014 we engaged Jan and her team in a Strategic Planning Process. The end result was extremely user-friendly and the timeline has really encouraged us to make use of the Goals and Strategies as planning tools in our growth. Unlike other Strategic Plans I have seen, this document did not just “sit on the shelf” and collect dust.

We are currently working with JMA on our permanent exhibit design. This project has been a little more challenging than we originally thought, but Jan’s guidance has helped us through. Her encouragement to “stay on the timeline” has been what we have needed to keep moving along. The skills of the individual team members have enhanced what our Curator has been able to bring to the table and I know that the final design will be very helpful to us as we approach the exhibit fabrication process.

Barb Piscopo
Executive Director
Lorain Historical Society


Jan McKay is a professional in all respects. As former associate vice president of public affairs at Case Western Reserve University, I had the opportunity to observe and to work with Jan in her capacity at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.  She is a dedicated and resourceful professional.  She understands the needs of her institution as well as the various constituency groups members, donors, general public and media and communicates with them easily in ways that meet their needs and those of the institution. She is energetic, resourceful, creative and thoughtful in her approach to opportunities that advance the institution on numerous levels.  Her mission-driven, results-oriented approach is invaluable.

Tom Shrout
Director, Communications
The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation


For more than a dozen years, I had the distinct privilege of guiding the marketing efforts for University Circle—the amazing cultural, medical, and educational district in Cleveland, Ohio. My job was to bring together and align the interests of renowned institutions including The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland Orchestra, and Case Western Reserve University (to name but a few) to strengthen and promote the collective brand of this remarkable place. Representing the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Jan McKay was quick to become a leader among her peers in these efforts. What set her apart then, and continues to serve her clients so well, is not only her ability to craft a strategy and deftly implement it, but her keen understanding of what an organization needs to achieve this.

Whitney F. Bohan
Former Director of Marketing, University Circle Inc., and Vice President, Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens (Akron, OH); currently Principal, Bohan Communications


Jan McKay and I have enjoyed a long and successful collaborative partnership. Throughout this time, I have noted that Jan’s track record is exceptional because her focus is always on the visitor experience. Her goal is to creatively develop experiences that engage and inspire while centering on the desired depth and type of learning taking place.

Jan is fabulous at networking as well as assembling remarkable teams comprised of just the right skills and expertise for each unique project. Her marketing background further strengthens her effectiveness as she creates layers of productive outcomes including exhibits, educational programs and facility design.

Enthusiastic, intelligent and ambitious; I highly recommend working with Jan!

Kristy Somerlot
VP, Client Services
Impact Communications
Cleveland, Ohio


On having Jan McKay working for you…Lucky you! You’ve found Jan! We were lucky too. It was way past time to update our image for our Kiwanis Club. In addition, to rebranding our Service Club in our community, we needed to come into the 21st century with technology that could expand our public relations outreach. We needed to rethink how we let our community know what projects we were involved with in order to increase our membership and fundraising activities. Jan worked with our team to understand who we were and which tangible resources we needed to develop in order to accomplish our goals. We needed to improve community awareness through media, both social and print. We ended up with creative brochures, a presence on Facebook, a wonderful website with content that described us along with a media packet to promote our fundraising events and foundation.

Jeanne O’Grady
Kiwanis Club of San Clemente


I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to work closely with Jan McKay during her tenure as Executive Director of the Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens. Her collaborative style in planning and her understanding of how to maintain the reputation for quality made for an excellent working relationship. Through each administrative and programmatic challenge, Jan maintained her sense of humor and dedication to the quality of service provided to adults and children. Jan McKay & Associates will provide the insight needed to raise your organization to the next level of excellence.

W. Ronald Redmond, DDS
President, Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens, San Clemente


Jan McKay has assembled an impressive cadre of associates. With this kind of cumulative experience, her clients’ needs are met with proven strategies and creative thinking.  What more can you ask for?

Nancy Mowrey
Educator


With such a wealth of experience behind her, Jan McKay is extraordinarily capable in evaluating institutional needs and helping non-profits to enhance their services and image to their visitorship.  She blends her understanding of the mission of an organization through focusing on the talents and effectiveness of staff and its leadership, through an incisive grasp of the needs and nature of the community or region it serves, and through a good business sense knows how to assist groups inspirationally and positively.

Her enthusiasm for her work is infectious and helps institutions to enhance implementation of their missions by means of evaluating current needs and anticipating those of the future, by guidance in fostering a good relationship with the media as well as the community, and by cultivating the organization to think creatively.  She has abundant experience through her directorship of two nonprofit institutions. Furthermore, she is a thoughtful and kindly human being.  All these attributes are accompanied by wisdom, outstanding intelligence, and strong ethical values.

J. Mary Taylor, Ph.D.
Director emerita
The Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Cleveland, Ohio


Our nonprofit met Jan when we were looking for marketing assistance. We had no budget for such things and yet we could not survive without a knowledgeable and thoughtful assessment of our organization. Jan contacted us to offer her services. She was captivated by our mission, and that was all she needed to lend us a hand.

Bob Kloos, Artistic Director
Beacon Street, Performing Arts in Ministry, Cleveland


Jan McKay is a professional in every since of the word, and I have worked with her on hundreds of collaborative projects over the last 20 years. She excels as an administrator, and has the insight and experience to develop projects to meet the needs of an institution’s short- and long-term goals. The breath of Jan’s business experience is broad and includes working with diverse upper management personnel and external organizations on a local, state and national level. Her successes include many successful marketing, branding and communication projects to increase visitor and student attendance, attract new audiences and build attendance from tourism groups. Jan listens to her clients, asks the right questions and delivers what she says she will do. She is extremely creative and has a good sense of humor.

Gail Takacs
20-year colleague with 22 years of museum experience and 6 1/2 years in higher education.


Jan has an astute sense of observation and assessment of needs for her organization.   At Casa Romantica Jan brought a previously unseen level of diversity of programming and a dramatic increase of community awareness to the organization.  With her keen eye focused on funding sources she was successful in spearheading new efforts that raised the level of vitality for the President’s Circle, one of the Casa’s most significant funding sources.

I had the pleasure of working side by side with Jan for two years through my role as chair of the “Toast to the Casa”, a black tie Gala, the Casa’s number one fundraising event.  She not only helped to make both events unprecedented successes but was a delight to work with.  On a personal level, I have found Jan McKay to be focused and a woman of great integrity.  She brings to the table a level of commitment not often seen in today’s business world.  It is not often that a business associate becomes a trusted and valued friend.

Michael W. Kaupp
Retail Business owner/Real-estate investor
Chair of the Planning Commission
City of San Clemente


During her years as Director of Old Cowtown Museum in Wichita, Jan McKay brought the Museum out of the doldrums, rescued it from obscurity, and made it an exciting place which drew increasing numbers of visitors, both young and old, to enjoy the events she organized. Under Jan McKay’s directorship the museum achieved a new level of professionalism across the entire range of modern museum responsibilities: conservation, documentation, photography, restoration, display, security, special exhibitions, lectures, fund-raising, and publicity. She achieved all this despite the daunting difficulties of managing an open air museum consisting of dozens of buildings, many over 100 years old, on several acres of parkland with insufficient staff and a chronic shortage of funds.

As a member of the Board of Old Cowtown Museum (and as a retired Museum Director) I was in a position over a period of several years to both understand the problems she faced and to see how effectively she dealt with them. One of her many notable achievements was the initial planning of a much-needed Visitor Center with associated parking facilities which she saw through to a successful completion in spite of daunting difficulties. It is now a popular focus for visitors as their first stop, with introductory displays regarding Kansas and Wichita history, a museum shop, a special area for meetings and lectures, and a coffee shop.

Dr. Schuyler Jones CBE
Professor Emeritus, Linacre College, Oxford, England.


Jan McKay works tirelessly for the organizations she manages and the clients she represents. She knows how to take a sleepy organization and make it come alive. What’s interesting is that she has a contemporary focus on solving problems, with an eye toward reputation management.  Her work is on target and on time.  Plus, she infuses every project with enthusiasm and creativity and a personal touch that recognizes the talents in others.

Patricia Gallagher
Government Affairs and Military Liaison
Wichita Area Chamber of Commerce



Ms. McKay provides guidance and oversight without directing by allowing those she works with to bring forth their own strengths and abilities to complete a project.

Sheila Forchtner
Retired Consultant
Volunteer Coordinator, Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens


Jan came to us with a great background in all the things needed in a venture like ours, such as fund raising, programming, exhibit planning, volunteer activities, budgeting, the arts, historic preservation, publicity, and community involvement.  Her creativity resulted in innovative ideas which gave a new spark of life to our organization, emphasizing our gardens and interacting with citizens interested in preservation. She was instantly accepted by the volunteers, as she emphasized their importance to our organization’s success.

Pat Bouman
San Clemente Historical Society
Co-Chair Casa Volunteer Council


Jan McKay has assembled an impressive cadre of associates. With their cumulative experience, her clients’ projects will be met with proven strategies and creative thinking.

Ann Beem
Exhibit Designer and 30-year museum veteran


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