Murphy Funkhouser

Director of Marketing & Business Development

Murphy has been a trusted partner to IFMA for more than 12 years as an outside brand and marketing strategist. She joined our team as the Director of Marketing & Business Development in 2025.

With over 20 years of experience in business, branding, and marketing, Murphy has supported the creation and launch of more than 500 local, regional, and national brands. She was the co-founder and owner of Kudzu Brands for over a decade, and then owner of a private consulting practice, BrandStage Consulting. Murphy is also a facilitator and teacher at Mountain Bizworks and is deeply connected to the Asheville business community. 

In her free time, Murphy is Mom to Maggie, 21 (a student at App State) and Georgia, 12 (a 7th grader at TLC). She owns a small farm in Mars Hill with goats, ducks, chickens, and more cats than she can count and loves to hike with her Australian Shepherd, Stella. She also enjoys spending time at her houseboat on Lake Watauga, just watching the world go by.