Careers do not always follow a straight path. Market changes, health challenges and personal priorities often reshape even the most stable plans. Kerri Kilbourne has spent nearly 30 years working across engineering, marketing and customer-focused leadership roles. Today, she is focused on returning to a full-time corporate position where her technical background and strategic thinking can once again drive meaningful results.
Kilbourne was trained as an electrical engineer and built her career in manufacturing and industrial environments that value teamwork and clear decision-making. Those experiences still guide how she thinks about work and leadership. “I’m focused on getting back into a full-time professional role again,” she says, noting that having purpose and financial stability both matter at this stage of her career.
Why Technical Fluency Still Matters in Marketing
Kilbourne is seeking a project manager role, likely in strategic marketing, a position she sees as a strong fit for her experience. She has held similar roles in the past and values the cross-functional nature of the work. “I thrive in roles that really touch all different functions,” she explains.
With an engineering background, Kilbourne is comfortable working closely with technical and manufacturing teams. At the same time, she has years of experience on the commercial side, working directly with customers and leadership teams. She believes the best strategies are built by pulling insights from every part of the organization. In her view, marketing works best when it connects technical reality with customer needs and long-term business goals.
Reframing Challenge as Professional Strength
A major turning point in Kilbourne’s life came with a cancer diagnosis. This experience brought both physical and professional challenges. While those who know her see the way she took on her battle with cancer as inspiring, others may have trouble seeing beyond the “disability” category under which cancer falls on many job applications. Kilbourne suggests that she brings new clarity, perspective and empathy to the opportunities presented to her as a result of dealing with two years of cancer treatments and the challenges associated with them.
The experience changed how Kilbourne approaches work and decision-making. During treatment, she stayed active and focused, walking six to eight miles a day while undergoing chemotherapy. Her mindset was practical and forward-looking, an approach evident in her podcast, “The Funny Things About Cancer.” “There’s a shock of being diagnosed,” she says, “and then it was, ‘OK. So, how do I get through this?’”
Kilbourne believes experiences like this build clarity and resilience. Facing uncertainty head-on strengthened her ability to assess risk, prioritize action and move forward without hesitation. She sees these traits as valuable in leadership roles where pressure and change are constant.
Experience Beyond the Job Title
Kilbourne is also the owner of Just Sweet Enough Baked Goods, a venture that grew out of a lifelong love of baking. While the business reflects creativity and discipline, she views it as a side project rather than her main professional focus. Her primary goal is to return to a corporate environment where she can work at scale and contribute strategically. Her baking business allowed Kilbourne to work on schedule optimization, budgeting, customer experience and other skills that translate back to, and augment, her corporate experience.
Outside of work, Kilbourne remains active in her community. She serves on the board of City Green Condominiums and has been involved with Habitat for Humanity and local theatres. These roles reflect her belief in staying engaged and contributing beyond the workplace.
A Career Guided by Purpose and Perspective
As Kilbourne looks ahead, she is clear about what she offers. She brings technical knowledge, strategic insight and a strong ability to listen. She believes effective leadership comes from understanding people, data and systems together.
Kilbourne’s message is simple but grounded in experience: setbacks do not erase a career; they shape it. For Kilbourne, returning to the corporate world is not about starting over. It is about moving forward with confidence and a deeper sense of perspective.
