Born in Fargo, ND, and raised in Moorhead, MN, Karen escaped her early environs as fast as her short legs could carry her (as anyone who's seen the movie Fargo will understand). She earned a B.A. from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, MN, majoring in English (helpful nitpicking skills when working with copyeditors) and minoring in Psychology (helpful head-nodding skills when working with authors). After a year in London, England - working full time while attending school on Antioch College's "Writer's Year Abroad" program (helpful sleep-deprivation skills for future Book Shows) - Karen discovered a new career idea in, appropriately, a book. She liked the idea of publishing. Time to call up relatives in Los Altos Hills and mooch off them for a while.

Karen was fortunate to land a job at Mayfield Publishing, then in downtown Palo Alto. As Mayfield's only editorial/marketing assistant at the time, she also worked in production, accounting, and any other department that begged hard enough. Noteworthy was a 5,000-copy sale of Tyler Welburn's COBOL book to Control Data Institute in Minneapolis. She recognized mental acuity (and an upcoming fat royalty check) when she saw it, and Karen and said author became a couple - and later, business partners.

She then hopped up to Belmont as editorial/marketing/production assistant in Wadsworth's International Group. Promoted to copywriter in Wadsworth Corporate Marketing, Karen eventually became promotions manager. Wadsworth's President, Dick Greenberg, asked her to be on an Association of American Publishers (AAP) committee. Working with Kathie Head and Gary Head to produce materials for events, Karen's addiction to volunteering began. It took 15 years, but she later got Dick to return the favor by speaking at BBW events.

After eight great years at Wadsworth, Karen got the entrepreneurial bug and joined Ty as a partner at Convert-It!, providing data conversion, OCR scanning, copyediting, and input editing services. Though delighted to work with many publishers as a vendor, she missed her publishing friends. So when Detta Penna needed a carpooler for BBW meetings, Karen went along for the ride.

It started innocently enough with small tasks at the Scholarship Fundraiser. Impressed by the dedication of longtime participants such as Bill Ralph and Roy Wallace, Karen chaired or co-chaired the Education Program Committee from 1996 to 2000. She also participated in the 1996 Book Show's entertainment committee, which opened with a rousing rendition of "YMCK" (to the tune of the Village People's "YMCA"). Karen served on the Board of Directors from 1997 to 1999, including a year as Secretary. In 1997, she joined the Newsletter Committee (and continues to either write articles or snooker someone else into doing them). From 1997 to 1998, she was BBW's first web editor, initiating and producing the site's front-page calendar that's still used today. In 1998, while Program Committee chair/Board Secretary/Newsletter writer and in a sheer act of overcommitment lunacy, she joined co-chair buddies Sandy D'Amato and Stephen Thomas, plus President buddy Leslie Austin, to produce the "Retro 70s" Book Show and BBW University.

Bookbuilders West thanks Karen for her contributions in so many different areas of the organization. Her long service, perseverance, and willingness to raise her hand when no one else would are greatly appreciated. Congratulations, Karen!