Biography
Prior to becoming the Director of School Health Services for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health in 2019, Karen spent thirteen years as the Director of Health, Safety and Equity Programs for the Northampton Public Schools, and had additionally functioned as the Program Director for the Northampton Prevention Coalition, which was federally funded to reduce youth substance use in the City of Northampton. Karen has worked in school health since 1997, after several years working in adult and pediatric inpatient and homecare settings and has also served her hometown as Vice-Chair of the East Longmeadow Board of Health from 2016-2021. She received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Fitchburg State University, her Master's in Nursing Management from Elms College, and her MBA, with a concentration in Healthcare Leadership, also from Elms College. Karen is a Nationally Certified School Nurse, a member of National Association of School Nurses/Massachusetts School Nurse Organization, a member of the Board of Directors of the National Association of State School Nurse Consultants, and an inactive member of Sigma Theta Tau, Epsilon Beta chapter.