As an Associate Consultant, Karen’s skills are systematic, steadfast and her commitment to high principles, thoughtful words and considerate actions inspire the team to do its best work. Her diplomatic approach produces quality results for Turning West, our consultants and ultimately our clients.
Prior to joining the Turning West Team, Karen was a highly respected food and beverage professional with over 25 years in the Hospitality Industry. She attended California Polytechnic University, Pomona where she was the Director of Finance for The Hospitality Management Council, member of CMAA (Club Managers Association of America), Roundtable for Food Service Professionals, Cal Poly Hospitality Association, and Harvest Auction Volunteer. She recently completed training in executive coaching and working towards the International Coaching Federation credential.
She graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree majoring in Hospitality Management from California Polytechnic University. Karen started her career at a prestigious private yacht club in Corona Del Mar, California. After 3 years and many events, she accepted a position with ARAMARK, Sports and Entertainment. As the Director of Operations at the Historic Shrine Auditorium, she successfully planned and executed high profiled red-carpet events such as the Prime time EMMYs, MTV Movie Awards 2005, VH1 BIG in ’04, NAACP Image Awards and Los Angeles Auto Show. From there Karen had to make a difficult decision to either accept a job offer to work as a catering manager for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics or a position as the Director of Food and Beverage at Doubletree Monrovia. The opportunity to open a hotel excited her because it gave her the chance to create the systems and foundation of a successful food and beverage operation. Karen went on to become a Director of Retail Operations at the Los Angeles Convention Center, Operations Manager at The LA Greek Theatre and Assistant General Manager of the LA Music Center.
Karen has a Doberman named Q and loves fostering retired racing Greyhounds. She also loves working on her 1970 Datsun Roadster 1600 and is an avid autocross racer in her 2005 MINI Cooper S.