Her Story
About Karen
I have been in the medical field for 20 years, working as a medical speech-language pathologist. The last 10 years of my career, I focused on treatment of dual diagnosis spinal cord injury and brain injury patients. Through my work in the spinal cord injury realm, that led me to my current role as Executive Director of NeuroAssistance Foundation. My career path changed during my senior year of college when I was beginning to apply to audiology programs after finishing my bachelor's degree. My father was diagnosed with laryngeal cancer, and through his cancer diagnosis and the fear of needing a complete laryngectomy, which he did not thankfully, that changed the trajectory of my career. That piqued my interest in voice disorders and dysphagia, or swallowing disorders. So through that experience of my father's cancer, that changed my career from audiology to speech-language pathology. Now at NeuroAssistance Foundation, I'm working to expand our services to include every county in Texas. We currently serve 108 counties in Texas, which is about the same geographical footprint as the state of Michigan. We partner with TIRR, Herman Memorial, Children's hospitals, and we've been recently getting referrals from MD Anderson as well.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Karen
01What do you attribute your success to?
I've always sought out high-functioning teams. When you surround yourself with high-functioning, successful women, it leads you to want to do more and to do better. I think that by surrounding myself with intelligent, influential, driven women has been what has created the spark in me to excel past what I thought was possible. And with the support of my husband, he always challenges me to do more than what I think is capable, because he sees in me sometimes what I don't see in myself.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
If you're in a room and you're the smartest person there, you gotta find a different room. I've read that multiple times, but it's so true. It's okay not to have all of the answers. You've got to use your resources around you, and it's okay not to be the expert in everything.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Look for a mentor that can help guide you, and it's okay not to have all of the answers. You've got to use your resources around you, and it's okay not to be the expert in everything. And if you're in a room and you're the smartest person there, you gotta find a different room. That's something I remind myself every day.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
NeuroAssistance Foundation truly does provide a unique service and fills a unique void in our community. If you do a search, an internet search on nonprofits for spinal cord injury, the majority of them focus on finding a cure for paralysis, which is remarkable, and we are on the brink of that. However, it misses the immediate needs of those who are newly injured, and NeuroAssistance Foundation is one of the only nonprofits that meets the immediate needs of someone newly injured.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Honesty and transparency are the two values that hold closest to my heart. I think that if you are honest in the intent of everything you are doing, you will only see good things happen. Transparency is so important to me, and I appreciate transparency in all my interactions.
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