Karen Blackwell is an experienced Supplier Diversity Executive with a demonstrated history as a thought leader in supplier engagement. She is skilled in business planning, operations management, coaching, sales, and supplier and customer relationship management. She is a strong purchasing professional with a Master of Regional Planning degree focused on Social Policy Planning and Economic Development from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 

Karen also has certificates from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth and CORO.  Her excellent communications and interpersonal skills allows her to cultivate a business strategy and rapport with key stakeholders for development of innovative procurement tools and programs to enhance efficiencies and reduce costs.  

Karen is a hands-on team leader who leads by example with demonstrated success in managing highly effective, cohesive teams, and motivating them to peak performance. Her expertise and background in the public sector provides an opportunity to assist companies required to develop and report Supplier Diversity Programs.