Baldwin Civic Association welcomes new president

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Kimberly Malone was sworn in earlier this month as the Baldwin Civic Association’s president.

Malone, 52,a local college counselor and financial services professional, said she plans to focus on community engagement and helping to implement downtown revitalization projects in Baldwin.

Originally from Chicago, Malone studied history and sociology at Dartmouth College, graduating in 1992. She took part in JPMorgan Chase’s management training program, and became a branch manager for the bank at age 24, and then a recruiter for the management program, before going back to school at Columbia and earning an MBA in 2000. Afterward she worked for the bank’s managing consulting group, where she helped internal clients enhance their businesses.

Malone’s entire department was laid off not long after the Sept. 11 attacks, but she eventually returned to Chase to work in human resources, before becoming a real estate agent in 2006.

“I’ve had a composite career,” she said. “I've done real estate, I’m a life insurance agent, and I'm a registered investment representative. I’ve got a lot going on.”

She lived in Brooklyn for much of her career, but she and husband Kenneth Bobb, who married in 2001, moved to Baldwin in 2004. They have two children, a daughter, Kourtney and a son, Kenneth Jr.

Malone got involved with the Baldwin Civic Association after a member recommended her for the Economic Development Chair role, when Darien Ward vacated the position to become BCA President. She had been the inaugural Economic Development Chair of the Nassau Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta, a nonprofit organization of college-educated women committed to constructive development and public service. In that role, she helped organize an annual Small Business Crawl, during which the sorority used its network to patronize local businesses on the South Shore, as well as facilitated financial literacy workshops. A neighbor noticed her efforts and recommended Malone for the position in the civic association.

 “I was appointed to the economic development chair, just before (Gov. Andrew Cuomo) came to (Baldwin) High School to announce the $10 million downtown revitalization grant,” Malone recalled. “This was timely, because as the economic development chairperson, I figured I would be paying attention to the developments in Baldwin.”

After working as the association’s economic development chair, Malone became its vice president in 2021. Before Ward finished his second term as president this month, Malone was approached by the group’s nominating committee and asked if she would consider running for president.

“I was really excited about it, but was concerned from a time perspective,” said Malone. “I had a daughter who just got into college, and a son about to graduate. After a number of conversations, I felt confident enough to make the commitment.”

Since being sworn in, Malone and her executive board have set several goals for the organization. One is to sway the Town of Hempstead and Nassau County to make fair and inclusive election redistricting maps, which, she hopes, would keep Baldwin in one district. She also said she hopes to work with town officials and others to guide Baldwin’s downtown revitalization, which includes projects such as Breslin Realty’s recently approved development, the Grand at Baldwin, as well as the Baldwin Commons development.

“For the last two years, we’ve been trying to bring the downtown revitalization initiatives into fruition,” Malone said. “Now that some projects have been approved, the next couple of years will focus on implementation.”