Karen Stroud-Phillips

BA, Communications and Spanish, Goucher College
MS, Higher Education Administration, Syracuse University

Karen joined CAE in 2022 after serving as director of student success and precollege programs in the Wisconsin School of Business. Prior to that, she lived and worked in metropolitan Washington, D.C. where she held leadership positions at independent schools and universities including Georgetown Day School, Friends School of Baltimore, University of Maryland, Georgetown University, Johns Hopkins University, and the George Washington University where she was Dean of Undergraduate Admissions.

A first-generation college student from a working-class family, Karen is a tireless advocate for students and is guided by the belief that all students should be supported and empowered to fully engage in all corners of the university community.

Active throughout the higher education profession, Karen has served on the governing board of the National Association for College Admissions Counseling; as a member of the Board of Advisors of the George Washington University Online High School; on the faculty of the Summer Institute of the Potomac and Chesapeake Association for College Admission Counseling; on the Middle States Regional Council of the College Board; and as a reviewer for the Gates Millennium Scholarship.

Karen enjoys reading, travel. listening to music, and volunteering. She also enjoys walks along Lake Mendota, the largest lake in Madison, with her husband and their adored petite mini goldendoodle, Neville.