Karen Shaver

Karen is a seasoned social worker, providing programmatic and organizational leadership to two national child and youth serving charities over the last 20 years. Identifying and addressing child safety concerns through ongoing risk identification and mitigation practices has always been a key responsibility, especially in the early part of her career, where she provided direct support to survivors of abuse and sexual violence. Karen has also conducted applied research with marginalized populations, such as youth experiencing homelessness and, more extensively, with women exploited in the sex trade and human trafficking. Although sport is a new frontier for Karen, she is motivated by a desire to see all environments safe so children and youth can thrive.

Karen received a Masters of Social Work, specializing in Community Development, Social Policy and Planning, from Wilfrid Laurier University and recently graduated from York University’s executive Masters in Public Policy, Administration and Law.