Please join Fels for a virtual conversation with Karen Richardson.
Karen Richardson has almost 20 years of experience in complex, multidisciplinary leadership roles that have required extensive team-building/leadership acumen, multi-platform crisis, tactical and strategic communications skills, and ongoing innovation at the intersection of public and media perception of high-profile national conversations. A public affairs professional with expertise in foreign and domestic policy issues, she provides clients with strategic counsel on social impact issues and campaigns, strategic communications and outreach, political strategy, long-term strategic planning, traditional and digital organizing, stakeholder engagement and coalition building, and government.
An eight-year veteran of the Obama Administration, Karen served as Associate Director & Public Engagement Advisor for the White House Office of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs from 2009 to 2014, before being appointed a Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at the U.S. Department of State. In 2017, Karen transitioned to the private sector, becoming a senior consultant for RALLY communications in LA during the start-up phase of the seminal Time’s Up campaign, where she orchestrated operational and strategic planning, and public messaging for this global movement. Her clients are in a variety of sectors, such as the nonprofit and entertainment arenas, including the Grammys, where she worked with the President of the Recording Academy and its Task Force on Diversity and Inclusion.
Karen’s numerous successes for the Obama White House and John Kerry’s State Department include public outreach, strategic communications, and messaging for the historic passage of the Affordable Care Act, the repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ US/Cuba relations, and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, in addition to the Department of State’s first-ever Entertainment Industry Initiative.
About the series:
The Public Policy in Practice Series, led by Fels Distinguished Fellow Elizabeth Vale, is designed to provide students with a variety of perspectives and compelling personal narratives that will help them not only form their opinions on important issues but will also help shape their careers. This series is offered in conjunction with the Fels graduate Public Management course required of all Fels MPA and Executive MPA students. Fels is proud to offer these important conversations to the entire Penn community and members of the public.
