Executive Legal Counsel
As Executive Legal Counsel, Karen is responsible for providing legal services to the Institute and its staff. ISLG is a public sector consultancy embedded in CUNY that partners with governments and community organizations to create policies, practices, and capacity that make public systems work for the people they serve.
Prior to joining ISLG, Karen was vice president and general counsel of the Vera Institute of Justice for 15 years. In addition to her legal responsibilities, she supervised Vera’s large scale demonstration projects, which included the guardianship project, managed its fiscal sponsorship program, and created new not-for-profit organizations from existing programs. Karen also has had more than a dozen years of government service as general counsel to New York City’s Department of Homeless Services and as deputy counsel in the City’s Human Resources Administration. Before joining City government, Karen worked at New York State’s Office of Court Administration, assisting the administrative judge to the NYC Family Courts. Karen began her legal career at the Legal Aid Society, first as a trial attorney in the Juvenile Rights Division and then as a supervising attorney in the Criminal Appeals Bureau. She received her JD from SUNY Buffalo and her BA from SUNY College at Buffalo.