Meet Megan McKray: A Champion for Working Parents and Caregivers

Megan McKray is dedicated to fostering a strong sense of community in the workplace. Throughout her career at Henkel, she has drawn inspiration from her own experience as a caregiver and employee to help develop and promote tailored programs that enhance employee wellbeing.

Tapping into different voices, perspectives, and experiences helps businesses solve problems, reveals new opportunities to grow, and encourages contributions that better support people and communities. At Henkel North America, diversity is a path to progress, innovation, and impact. Our employees and partners are united by our purpose: Pioneers at heart for the good of generations. They collaborate to tackle challenges, find solutions and open new perspectives – allowing us to deliver products, services, and innovations that enrich and improve everyday life.

We invite you to “meet” our pioneers in our series, “Pioneers for Good.”

Introducing Megan

Authenticity is a cornerstone of a positive workplace culture; it’s the key to creating an open, communicative, and efficient working environment. This belief resonates deeply with Senior Benefits Specialist for Henkel North America, Megan McKray. 

Megan began her career as an intern on Henkel’s Benefits team with aspirations of making a difference. She soon discovered her true calling and has been an integral part of the team ever since. Megan has worked closely with colleagues to support and raise awareness of wellbeing initiatives, helping turn her goal into a reality. 

“As I’ve grown both personally and professionally, I watched the internal culture at Henkel evolve. It’s amazing to see, first-hand, the caring support for employee wellbeing and impact of initiatives that provide meaningful value and choice for employees and their families.” said Megan.

Cultivating connections through communication

Megan’s mission to make a difference at work is personal. Inspired by her own experiences with mental health and being a working parent, she recognized the power of open dialogue and genuine connections. Her goal: to create a supportive space for people in similar situations to seek comfort and share lessons and advice.

"Being on a team that is understanding helps people open up. I truly believe this is the best way to work together because it opens the door for trust and creates space to support each other on a personal level."

Megan McKray, Senior Benefits Specialist for Henkel North America

Creating solutions for a better workplace

Megan's personal experiences, combined with the positive feedback she has received from colleagues, have driven her to champion programs that improve company culture and promote work-life balance.

As a member of the Benefits team, Megan has developed a deep appreciation for the value Henkel’s programs offer—not only for her own use, but also in promoting them to colleagues and working with her team to enhance and expand offerings. For example, when the company expanded their paid parental leave offering, Megan helped to develop a complementary program to send gift baskets to new parents. These thoughtful packages included new parent resources, Henkel goodies, and tips for the transition back to work.

Megan is particularly enthusiastic about the Maven Family Care benefit, a program offering a robust network of specialists and resources to support a variety of life stages such as family planning, parenting and pediatrics, and menopause. It’s a resource she has experienced the value of first-hand.

“When we were planning for our second child, I leaned on the articles and message boards monitored and led by physicians—trusted resources you can easily access through the program.”

Making a PACT to fuel an inclusive culture

As a soon-to-be mother of two, Megan has developed a special connection to the employee benefits she has helped to promote. Beyond the day-to-day responsibilities in her role, she saw an opportunity to further build community at work.

"Becoming a working mom changed my identity, which sparked the idea that it would be great to have an ERG for parents who are trying, like I was, to balance the new identity of a parent while still moving forward and striving for success in their career."

Megan McKray, Senior Benefits Specialist for Henkel North America

In 2024, Megan began developing a proposal to introduce a new Employee Resource Group (ERG), tailored towards working parents. Through shared inspiration, Megan connected with Rachele Dunham, Senior Payroll Manager, who suggested expanding the ERG to all caregivers. Together they created PACT (Parents and Caregivers Together) for parents and caregivers to foster connections and bond over shared experiences.

Driving workplace improvements at Henkel

Since Megan started at Henkel, she has remained committed to her goal of improving the workplace and making a meaningful difference for her colleagues. From being an advocate for open dialogues at work to identifying and addressing gaps in work-life balance resources, Megan has driven impactful change and is a true pioneer for her colleagues in the North America region.