Linda Meeks
CO-CEO and President, Meeks Heit Associates

Linda is Co-CEO and president of Meeks Heit Associates, a company engaged in consulting, keynote speaking, training, and producing high-quality written, electronic and recorded materials whose purpose is to educate and motivate people of all ages to take responsibility for their wellness. She also is an Associate Professor Emeritus at The Ohio State University where she held joint appointments in the College of Education and College of Medicine.

Linda is recognized as one of America's most prolific and successful authors. Having co-authored more than 300 books, she is one of sixty top-selling authors included in You Can Make It Big Writing Books. Linda’s has been published in six languages. Her health education textbooks for grades K–12 have been used by millions of students in the United States as well as in Egypt, Jordan, Greece, England, Germany, Spain, Japan, Bermuda, Puerto Rico, Canada, Saudi Arabia, and the Virgin Islands. Her college textbooks are the most widely used in her field. Linda also has produced multimedia programs for schools and teacher training that have garnered three Telly and two Axiem awards. Linda has testified before the Congressional committee on violence on strategies to reduce violence in schools and before the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports on ways to promote fitness through health education. She co-authored the first HIV/AIDS book for middle school students and participated in a worldwide press conference on this topic.

Linda has an exceptional business record, having founded one of the fastest growing and best profit margin educational publishing companies—Meeks Heit Publishing Company, in 1971. In1999, Linda and Philip Heit, Co–CE0s of Meeks Heit Publishing Company, sold their company to the Tribune Company– ranked No. 1 among industry peers in that year in Fortune Magazine's list of most admired companies in America. Subsequently, their company was acquired by the McGraw-Hill Companies, the most prominent educational publishing company in the world. Linda continues to write textbooks and trade books on health, well-being, and spirituality. She is an avid cyclist and golfer. She considers her faith and family to be of utmost importance and has a daughter, Kristen, a son-in-law, Jay Langan, and two grandsons, Oliver and Reed.

CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE COLUMBUS CHAPTER OF WPO

Linda joined the WPO in 1997 as a charter member of the Columbus chapter. She served on the marketing committee for her chapter and also helped her chapter initiate an annual Women Empowering Women luncheon sponsored by her chapter. This luncheon’s purpose has been to recognize an empowered woman with an Empowered Woman Award and to raise money to empower women and/or children in the Columbus area. Linda has actively pursued getting funds for her chapter. She garnered the two current sponsors for her chapter several years ago and these sponsors have continued. She also garnered the corporate sponsors for the WEW luncheons.

CONTRIBUTIONS TO INTERNATIONAL WPO

Linda has served on the international Advisory Board for the WPO which subsequently became the Board of Directors for the international WPO. She coordinated, edited and helped to publish the Best Practices Manual for use by the facilitators. For her efforts, she was awarded the first President’s Award for service to the international WPO.

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the international WPO and to recognize the unselfish contributions of Marsha Firestone, Linda pledged to make a gift to promote women entrepreneurs. In 2009, she gifted money to The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business to provide funds for this College to become a sponsor of the international WPO. Fisher College is highly respected for having faculty that provide exceptional consulting, training and educational programs for women entrepreneurs.

Currently, an alumni member of the international WPO, Linda believes it is important for the alumni to include making WPO part of their legacy by mentoring members of their chapters and by promoting and growing the international WPO through gifts and fundraising.