Mei-Mei Chan

President and Publisher, The News-Press Media Group

 University of Illinois, Communications

 Northwestern University, Medill School of Journalism

Mei-Mei joined The News-Press Media Group as President and Publisher in March 2010, and has established herself as a dynamic community catalyst. She is passionate about civic leadership and the important role The News-Press plays in helping reflect, connect, challenge and lead Southwest Florida, with the core purpose of serving the greater good.

In 2012, she was honored by state Sen. Mike Bennett and Sen. Lizbeth Benacquisto with The Senator’s Award for helping ignite new regional engagement around the important topic of education as an economic driver. She was also named corporate person of the year by the Estero Chamber of Commerce; listed among the 100 outstanding journalists of the past century by Unity: Journalist of Color; and recognized by the Gannett Company for championing diversity and leadership.

Mei-Mei has an unusually broad knowledge of the media industry, having held executive positions in news, marketing, advertising and circulation. She came to Florida from The Seattle Times Company, where she had been the vice president of advertising. Mei-Mei was one of 10 Gannett publishers awarded the President’s Ring for 2010 achievements at The News-Press, the largest media organization and largest manufacturer in Southwest Florida. In 2003, she was recognized for innovation as Sales Executive of the Year by the Newspaper Association of America.

Previously, Mei-Mei held editor and reporter positions at the Post Register in Idaho Falls, ID, the Chicago Sun-Times, USA Weekend Magazine, USA Today and the Commercial News in Danville, IL.

Mei-Mei has long been involved in leadership development and now serves as a member of the Horizon Council, Lee County’s Economic Development partnership, chairing its Regional Economic Development Task Force; the Advisory Council for FGCU’s Lutgert College of Business; the Naples Chamber of Commerce Board; the advisory board for Imagine Solutions; and as a statewide trustee for the PACE Center for Girls.

Born in Canton, China, Mei-Mei lived in Hong Kong until the family immigrated to Chicago when she was seven. She is a communications graduate from the University of Illinois at Champaign, and has studied and taught at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism.

She is married to Randy Kirk, a former journalist; they have two grown children and enjoy playing tennis, musical theater, traveling and exploring.