Most organizations stagnate by protecting the status quo. They tweak marketing campaigns, adjust sales funnels, juggle short-term headcount, or buy another tool to latch onto an old system. They start with answers, not questions, and then wonder why nothing really changes. And if you’re the leader who’s already frustrated by that—who can see the pattern but can’t quite shift it from inside—you’re who I’m here for.
Systems models show that every organization moves through cycles of growth, stall, and upheaval. With the right lenses, disruption stops being “out of nowhere”—and it doesn’t have to mean destruction. It can be the shifts you see coming—new technology, policy and funding changes, demographic shifts, leadership transitions—and the ones you don’t. Handled well, those moments are a chance to realign how work gets done, not just something to brace against.
As a Business Designer, I help organizations not just meet their goals, but get ready for that inevitable disruption by creating internal systems that are rooted in their culture. From the outside, clients and communities experience that as interactions that feel like the organization they’ve been promised. Saying maybe before no means pausing the rush to a fix long enough to ask, “What’s actually happening in our system, our sector, our industry—and does the way we work still make sense for where we’re headed?”
My second question for you is simple: are you willing to get curious about those patterns and what they can tell you?
“Karen is an exceptional connector of people, organizations and ideas. She’s great at it because she is genuinely interested in helping others achieve their goals, passionate about the organizations she chooses to work with and highly receptive to new ideas.”
— Mark Zimmerman - CEO at RSPNDR
My work shows up in three ways: consulting inside organizations, speaking at events, and designing or supporting projects that keep me grounded in community and experimentation with an eye on positive social impact.
I work with scaling, mid-sized organizations and large enterprises that need to design for their growth, or are showing signs of struggling as the gaps between strategy, operations and culture become harder to manage. We map what’s really going on, identify the elephants, and redesign how work gets done so people, processes, and decisions line up.
I am not a motivational speaker.
I’m a reality check.
I bring a disruption and systems lens to conferences, leadership sessions and workshops so people can see their own patterns—and what it might take to change them.
Projects are where and how I stay rooted in community, curiosity, and connection.
Previous and ongoing work includes Women Disrupted, systems change initiatives, city-building, and mentoring entrepreneurs.
If something in your system needs to change and you’re willing to say maybe, we should talk.