Karen

With 20 years of experience doing mission-oriented work, I am passionate about creating programs and initiatives that improve social, economic, and wellness outcomes for underrepresented people and underresourced communities. 🏡💁🏽‍♀️📊

I am a first generation college attendee and a classic elder millennial, in that I graduated from college into a housing-driven market crash 📉 (with a degree in real estate). I had to work where I could and I learned a lot about myself during that time and how to find value in every experience. It took me years to get into my field, but I did some of my favorite work in my lowest paid, off-track positions.

My background is diverse, and may be considered disparate by some, but my work in youth development 👧🏽, human services, nonprofit program management, public housing, wealth management 💰, and real estate development and brokerage converge to provide me a wealth of contacts and experiences to pull from to bring innovative, barrier-breaking projects to fruition. I earned both a bachelors and masters degree in real estate along the way.

I work professionally as a COO at a start up real estate development and consulting company and I also day trade and fascinated by generational wealth creation and personal finance topics.

Personally, I was unmarried and dated well into my 30s and learned a lot about myself and what I needed from life. I’ve traveled international, including solo travel and am determined to live a fulfilled life.

My greatest passion is helping people, especially women and girls, identify their genius and leverage their talents to achieve their wealth and impact goals.

I am married to Dr. Carl Patten, an IT executive in the nonprofit space, a dog mom to two pups, and we are expecting a baby girl winter 2026.