Katherine Phillips Durham, '88, Hon '18

After graduating with honors from UP, Katherine Phillips Durham’s career began as a Peace Corps Volunteer and teacher in Thailand, an experience that fueled a commitment to helping her community and a love of travel and different cultures. Her entrepreneurial spirit was ignited soon afterwards while working for two hi-technology start-ups. Now, with over 20 years of senior leadership experience and expertise in marketing, profit and loss management, and operations, Durham is the principal and owner of KMD Consulting and provides consulting services as an executive coach, advisor, and independent board director.

From 2010 through May of this year she held a unique role as a C-level executive for The Standard, an insurance and financial services company. Durham was both the Chief Marketing Officer for the company as well as the Vice President and P&L leader for one of the business units. Durham spent the previous nine years at Hewlett-Packard.  She was the Vice President of Marketing for HP’s Americas Imaging and Printing Group, which at the time was the most profitable division of the world’s largest technology company. She is also on the board of the Regional Arts and Culture Council and a member of the Oregon Venture Fund and the National Association for Corporate Directors. Her former board work includes the Children’s Cancer Association, Abbey’s Closet, and the Oregon Entrepreneur Network, among others. Durham is from a family of UP alumni. Her father and all four of her siblings are graduates of the University.