WELCOME TO M.A.I.T. Co.

Additional Awards and Experience Include:

• National President of the Girl Scouts of the USA and Chair of the Board of Directors of GSUSA (2020 to 2023) and National Board Member (2017 to 2023);

• First woman president of the Seventh Circuit Bar Association in its then 51-year history and current Member of 7th Circuit Civil Pattern Jury Instructions Committee;

• 2021 University of Illinois Economics Alumni Social Impact Award winner;

• Management Committee Member, Chair of Compensation Committee, Chair of Litigation Practice Area, Chair Construction Law Group and Hiring Partner while at Vedder Price;

• Served as an Executive Advisor to the Metropolitan Plan Commission;

• University of Illinois College of Law Leadership Project Advisory Board Member;

• Co-Chaired the ABA Construction Litigation Committee;

• Member of the Economic Club of Chicago;

• Member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners;

• Served as Board Chair of the Girls Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana, Chair of Long Term Property Planning Committee and 13 year troop leader for Riverside Troop 4590;

• Former Board Chair of the University of Illinois College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Alumni Association (for which Karen was recognized with the University's Distinguished Service and Alumni Loyalty Awards);

• Former Member of the Board of the University of Illinois Alumni Association and Board Chair of its President's Council;

• Past Co-President St. Ignatius College Prep. Parent Organization and SICP Strategic Advisory Committee member;

• Incorporated and served as Board Member of St. Ignatius Hockey Club;

• Past President Riverside Elementary Education Foundation;

• Past Chair Village of Riverside Plan Commission (work included rewriting award-winning zoning code for national historic Village); and

• As volunteer, developed and implemented internet-based Cultural Arts Program for St. Mary School, Riverside, IL.

Mediation and Arbitration Services:

Karen serves nationwide as a licensed AAA Arbitrator and Mediator including on the mega-construction case panel (over $80M in claims), the energy and complex construction, commercial and joint venture and M&A panels and serves on DRB panels including on the DRB - for the Brooklyn Dismantle and Swing Space - NYC BBJ Program. She serves on the AAA national Board of Directors and as the Budget and Finance Chair, as well as Co-Chair of the National Construction Dispute Resolution Committee. Her AAA resume can be viewed here.

Northwestern University Adjunct Professor:

Karen is an Adjunct Professor to the Northwestern University College of Engineering Masters of Science program in Design Construction and is a member of Northwestern’s College of Engineering Industry Advisory Board. She teaches Ethics, ADR, Crisis Management and Due Diligence Courses in the Engineering and Design Construction Program and guest lectures on ethics, cyber risks, insurance and other topics in the Masters in Project Management Program.

Recent Speaking Engagements:

Karen is a frequent lecturer and keynote presenter on cutting-edge construction, ethics, arbitration and mediation topics as well as concerning women’s leadership and empowerment issues, at leading industry functions. Significant representative speaking engagements include:

• Panelist Construction Super Conferences: In (12/2023-upcoming) on Consequential Challenges in Arbitration Clauses; (12/2018) on two panels - SCOTUS Swings the Pendulum Back in Favor of Arbitration: Ensure That Your Next Arbitration Clause Is Effective and Enforceable and Mind the Coverage Gap: Insurance Specifications and Policy Terms That Can Trip You Up; (12/2017) on How Effective Preliminary Hearings Ensure Efficiency and Economy and on panel entitled Streamlining Your Arbitration: How to Avoid Reliving the Construction Project “Brick by Brick;” (12/2016) on Modern Challenges and Ethical Dilemmas at Arbitration; (12/2015) on Ethics in Arbitration; (12/2014) on Ethical Pitfalls of Electronic Communications; (12/2013) on Ethical Lapses and Criminality in Construction Procurement and Staffing;

• Opening Keynote at the Women in Technology Hollywood SoCal Women Leadership Conference (11/2022) in Hollywood, CA: The Future Women in Tech Wear Green;

• Panelist at the AAA Construction Annual Meeting (6/2022) New York, NY on Arbitrators' Impartiality: The Canons Are Only the Starting Point for Ethical Requirements;

• Panelist and Moderator on the opening Plenary at the ABA Construction Forum Annual Meeting (4/2022) New York, NY on The Relationship Between the C-Suite and the General Counsel;

• Panelist at the AAA B-Sharp Program (4/2022) Chicago, IL on An Insider’s View on Arbitration Best Practices for In-House Counsel;

• Panelist on AAA 2021 panels: the first was at the June 2021 AAA Virtual Construction Conference on the panel, Ethical Issues Arising in Multi-Party Mediations and Arbitrations and the second was entitled Charting Your Path to an ADR Practice: Practical Advice to Help You Prepare to Serve as a Construction Arbitrator or Mediator (7/2021);

• Speaker at the Firestop Contractors International Association April 2019 Annual Chicago meeting on Firestopping 20 Years in the Making: What do We Know About Potential Sources of Liability? and at is 20th Anniversary Industry Conference, Miami, FL (11/2019) on Liability Arising out of Firestopping;

• Panelist at ABA's 2019 Insurance Coverage CLE Seminar (3/2019) Tucson, AZ., on Workers Compensation: Disruption is the Only Cure to Saving a Broken System; 

• Panelist at ABA's Section of Dispute Resolution Spring Conference (4/2019) Minneapolis, MN on I Know You Want to "Beat the Heck Out of 'Em" and that "Money Doesn't Matter," But . . . How to Save Parties from Themselves in Construction Arbitration;

• Speaker at the opening plenary at the 2018 ABA Forum on Construction Annual meeting (April 2018 in NOLA) on the Economics of Construction and Obtaining Your Mini MBA;

• Panelist on AAA Webinar (12/2016) on What Advocates Can Learn From Walking in an Arbitrator’s Shoes;

• Panelist (with Marathon Petroleum) at the ILTA Annual Conference (6/2014) on Ethical and Other Considerations Relating to Electronic Discovery;

• Panelist at the Seventh Circuit Judicial Conference and Bar Annual Meeting (5/2013) on The How-to of Civil Settlements and Criminal Plea Bargains; and

• Faculty member at the March 2022 Academy and at the 2020 ABA Construction Forum Trial Academy (3/2020).