Karen Avery

Karen Avery is a multidisciplinary executive search consultant with a deep background in philanthropy, education, arts and culture, and fundraising. Karen has an entrepreneurial spirit and a proven ability to adapt and grow in new arenas. Her work stretches across the nation, and she has a breadth of knowledge and contacts with executive leaders in the nonprofit organizational management sphere, in the community impact space, and in schools and higher education. 

Karen made her mark as a senior leader in fundraising and foundation relations and has secured extraordinary gifts and grants at the national level for some of the most prominent organizations in the country. Prior to joining Isaacson, Miller, Karen served as Senior Director at the PBS Foundation and Director of Foundation Relations at the Smithsonian Institution. Earlier in her career, she spent more than a decade in academic administration at Harvard University and served as Senior Admissions Officer prior to becoming Assistant Dean of Harvard College.

Karen has been active in the civic sector for many years. Currently, she is Vice Chair of the Board of Directors for ACT for Alexandria Community Foundation and serves on the Board of Directors for Vaccinate Your Family, and on the Board of Visitors for The Albany Academies. Past volunteer service includes the Harvard Club of Washington, D.C. Board of Directors, the Grantmakers for Education Arts Education Impact Group, the Council on Foundations Dues and Membership Task Force, the Wolf Trap Associates Board of Directors, and The Albany Academy for Girls Board of Trustees. Karen is a contributing author to Real Women, Real Leaders: Surviving and Succeeding in the Business World.