Founders

Karen was born in Washington, D.C. and now resides in New York. She attended Virginia Tech where she received a BS degree in Business Management and an MS degree in Education. Karen earned a PhD in Education from the University of Virginia. She is the recipient of a National Research Award for her Master’s thesis; has presented at local, state, and national conferences; and is co-author of ten publications. She has a Professional Collegiate Teaching Certificate, as well as certifications in Interpersonal Skills Instruction, High Performance Management Systems and GE’s Change Acceleration Process. 

After completing her Master’s degree, Karen began her career teaching middle-, high-school and adult education.  While pursuing her advanced degrees, she held positions as a Research Assistant at Virginia Tech and The University of Virginia, as well as Academic Intern for the U.S. Department of Education. After receiving her Ph.D., she worked as a Program Manager and Interim Executive Director for a non-profit service organization serving 11 school districts, 3,800 students, 400 teachers, and a 32-member board. Karen moved from this role to work for Arthur Andersen, LLP as an organizational development consultant, where she managed an international, multi-year curriculum evaluation project for the firm's business consulting function. She also helped establish and manage a performance-management process, infrastructure, and technology-development team for the firm. She then worked at CDR International, a Mercer-Delta Consulting Company, in the augural position of Director of Client Services. She designed and oversaw an internal team supporting the delivery of large-scale, global leadership development programs, as well played a leadership role in preparing the organization for acquisition. Karen started working at GE Healthcare’s consulting group in 2002 delivering GE’s leadership development systems and Change Acceleration Process training to healthcare executives; in March, 2008, she became Global Program Manager, Leadership Development at GE’s Corporate University, Crotonville. Karen joined Thayer Leadership as Director of Education in August, 2010.

Karen enjoys running, most outdoor activities, reading and traveling/exploring. She developed her love of traveling in her youth while living in third-world countries.