As senior director of REDF’s programs, Karen Chern oversees REDF’s signature pathway programs of Accelerator, Growth Portfolio, and Community. In this role, she is responsible for the programming, resources, grant capital, and relationship management support that REDF offers its portfolio of employment social enterprise (ESE) partners.

Karen initially joined REDF as a Farber Fellow, helping an enterprise launch a new business line. The experience cemented her desire to continue to use her business acumen for good. She was thrilled to return to REDF in 2013 as a full time staff member, and has worked hands-on with a wide variety of ESEs ever since, offering mentorship, business advising, programmatic capacity building, and grant capital.

Prior to joining REDF, Karen was a consultant for a boutique consulting company, providing flexible analytics and scenario planning to R&D teams in life science companies. She graduated with a B.A. in economics from Duke University and an MBA from the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, where she was director of operations for the Social Venture Fund, the first student-led impact investing fund. Outside of work, you can find Karen enthusiastically (but slowly) skiing the slopes near her home in Salt Lake City, seeking out dumplings, and hanging out, watching construction sites with her two young sons.