Karen has spent the last twenty years building a career in the philanthropic, not-for-profit, and private sectors – leading innovative solutions at the crossroads of the respective fields. Her broad-based experience and deep expertise have given her a passion for creating social impact, driving change, and delivering results.
As Managing Director, Strategic Initiatives and Investor Engagement, Karen is leading the Foundation’s work to engage the financial sector and colleges in universities in advancing Design for Freedom, a new movement to eliminate forced labor in the building materials supply chain. She is also leading strategic partnerships for Grace Farms Foundation on the West Coast to advance its mission and expand its impact.
Karen was previously Grace Farms’ Community Initiative Director, leading the Foundation’s focused work fostering inclusive communities with a focus on gender and racial equality and food equity.
Karen spearheaded the Foundation’s commitment to addressing systemic food scarcity, where she led an effort dozens of not-for-profit partners to deliver thousands of pounds of nutritious meals and pantry staples to tens of thousands of those in need throughout Fairfield County. Karen also conceived of and hosted Against the Grain, a video series that highlighted innovative strategies and collaborative models to address food scarcity. Similarly, Karen has initialized and developed programming around gender equity, including Making Space for Women, which honored the important role that women play in our communities and the innovators that advance change. To advance the Foundation’s racial equity work, Karen created Then and Now, with American civil rights leader Ruby Bridges and led efforts to address racism including addressing the rising number of hate crimes against the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community.
Prior to joining Grace Farms, Karen founded Factor Philanthropy – where she partnered with start-ups to build purpose and social impact into their founding structure and ongoing strategy. Previously, she led strategic efforts at the GE Foundation in their Education and Skills Initiative,. She was also the former Director at The Fund for Public Schools – the largest not-for-profit in the U.S. dedicated to building public-private partnerships to improve a city school district; she also worked in the Private Wealth Management Group at Morgan Stanley, where she focused specifically on advising clients on the management and investment of philanthropic assets.
Karen obtained her MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth and a B.A. from Stanford University.
