Every hive has its queen, and ours is Becka, BatesMeron’s President.

As our cofounder, Becka literally puts the “Bates” in BatesMeron, taking our company from its humble beginnings in 2005 to the nationally recognized force of design and marketing it is today. Prior to this, she rose to the ranks of Senior Art Director for two agencies, winning a variety of awards for her work in graphic design and creative direction.

Like most creatives, her path wasn’t always so clear. Becka first attended Eastern Illinois University as a Marine Biology major, following her love of both animals and oceanography. Still, it wasn’t long before her passion for aesthetics and creativity got the better of her and she made the leap into marketing, design and communications.

Educated as both a scientist and a creative, Becka’s perfectly balanced right and left brains make her one creative entrepreneur. You can count on her for everything from brilliant concepts and insightful critiques to detailed marketing strategies and collaborative client relationships. She knows how to promote business with purpose, and how to turn great design into powerful ROI—something she regularly discusses with her fellow executives in Vistage Professional Executive Development meetings and with her networking group, #LadyBoss.

Becka is also a Board Member of the Luminarts Cultural Foundation, an organization dedicated to developing and promoting programs that support arts education for children and young adults in Chicago. And in her free time? Becka’s a busy bee, from finding new attire for her two mini Yorkies, Oliver and Maude, and catching up on the newest sci-fi and fantasy shows to whipping up specialty cupcakes for staff birthdays.

Just know whatever Becka’s up to, she’s doing it with a whole lot of wit, passion and creativity (and probably more than one swear word).