Karen is a senior fellow who works on special projects from time to time.
In her role as senior fellow, Karen is responsible for analyzing and communicating to the community the impact of public policies. She previously oversaw the Pennsylvania Outreach Project, an effort to encourage eastern Pennsylvania foundations to place greater emphasis on smart growth concerns – issues that affect the quality of life in a region including land use, development and community revitalization.
Prior to joining the Community Foundation, Karen served as mayor of Reading from 1980 to 1987. Most recently, she was executive director of the Pennsylvania Economy League at the state office in Harrisburg, where she oversaw IssuesPA, PEL’s award-winning initiative to identify, analyze and publicize the issues most important to Pennsylvania’s future economic competitiveness. Karen was also previously the secretary’s representative for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for the Mid Atlantic.
She also served as secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Community Affairs. Karen received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Indiana University (Bloomington) and an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Albright College.
She is a graduate of Harvard University’s Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government and an elected Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.
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