Hi, I am Kimberly Davidson! I was born and raised in Southern California and have lived in this valley for more than 22 years. I currently live in Downtown Murrieta with my two teen girls, three adopted dogs and a cat. I am a mom, a sister, a daughter and a friend.
My goal in life was to get married and have a family. That was my dream! I started working when I was 14 and always had a job either after school or during the summers. I transferred as a Junior from Moorpark College to Cal State Northridge and received a degree in Journalism – but I really just wanted to be a mom! Eventually, I found a career in marketing, and I am a self-taught graphic designer. I enjoyed working in the marketing departments of private companies, but it was not my passion. It was paying the bills until I could start my family.
In 2005, I got married and not long after that I started a home-based marketing company, MBD Marketing, Inc. My husband and I wanted to have something I could do from home once we started having kids—and the first kiddo came along in 2008. Just as we arrived home from the hospital with her, I received a letter in the mail from the U.S. Small Business Administration inviting me to Washington D.C. to accept an award: Home-based Business Champion of the Year. That is when things began to change.
I started getting awards and recognition for my work with our local small businesses. I was seeing how much these mom-and-pops needed a cheerleader and support. At the same time, I was longing for coworkers and office life. As it turns out, working from home is not an ideal situation for an extrovert!
It was around October 2008 when I applied for an Economic Development position with the City of Murrieta. Truth be told, I did not have a clue what “economic development” was, but the job notice read like a copy of my resume, so I felt confident that the job was made for me. It was. I was so happy to be able to help businesses from City Hall, rather than from my home-based marketing company.
Here we are, 16+ years later and I went from the City of Murrieta (eight years) to the City of Corona (three years) and now the City of Wildomar for the past five years. I love my career—it is what I would do even if I wasn’t paid to do it (that’s the test, right? Shhh, don’t tell Wildomar!) Every day, I get to be part of building a city and encouraging small business. Turned out that was my dream, and I could still be a mom (albeit a single mom since 2010) as well— the best of both worlds!
Over the years, I have received many notable awards for promoting business in this valley, but I am most proud of receiving the “Woman of the Year” award from then-Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez in 2016 and being named “Citizen of the Year” in 2014 by the Murrieta Chamber of Commerce. I have volunteered with several non-profits over the years and am currently a board member for Save the Animals Today (STAT). I am also a member of 100+ Women Who Care Temecula Valley.