A passionate advocate for the arts, heritage and culture across Canada over the past 25 years, Karen has held a variety of positions in non-profit organizations, the private sector and government. A Cultural Planner at the City of Vancouver since 2001, her portfolio includes major institutions such as the Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver Museum, Vancouver Symphony, and Science World, as well as liaising with arts administrators, artists, musicians and composers in artist-run centres, visual arts and music organizations in the city. The focus of this work has been on developing civic cultural policy and programs to strengthen the arts and cultural sector. Karen currently sits on the board of the Creative City Network of Canada, a national-organization consisting of municipalities, arts organizations and individuals working to support cultural development in their communities and facilitating knowledge sharing in the field of local cultural policy, planning and research.

Previous to her position at the City of Vancouver, Karen led the Surrey Art Gallery through transformative change to become a leader in community cultural engagement, was instrumental in founding the Art Gallery of Calgary, created the BC government’s visual arts program during EXPO 86, and worked at the Royal Ontario Museum during its major renovations and for the former Ministry of Culture in Ontario. Karen has a post-graduate certificate in Museology from the École du Louvre in Paris and an Honours BA in Art History from York University, Toronto.

Interested in creative processes, contemporary practice and ideas, the interface between humans, technology and nature, and furthering the contribution of artists and the arts in the co-creation of our cities and communities.