HDC Welcomes New Executive Director: Karen Shawcross

The Board is pleased to announce the appointment of Karen Shawcross as the new Executive Director. Following an extensive search with the assistance of TACS (Technical Assistance for Community Services), Karen was selected after interviews with Search committee, Staff and Board.

Karen's previous experience has spanned both the nonprofit and private sectors. She comes to HDC following 3 years as Director of Business and Industry at Worksystems, Inc. in Portland. At Worksystems, a nonprofit workforce development organization, Karen directed business services programs, managed a grant portfolio for incumbent worker training, conducted a comprehensive labor/supply demand audit for the Portland metropolitan region, and managed a staff working on economic development, grantwriting, and other grant programs for employers.

Prior to that, Karen was a Senior Vice President at Bank of America where she developed and directed two national initiatives for low-income youth and adults: America/Works and America/Banks. America/Works was a national workforce development program that implemented customized training programs for people with barriers to work in cities across the U.S., provided grants for national workforce development programs, and worked collaboratively with national nonprofits on workforce development solutions. America/Banks was a national financial literacy initiative that Karen developed for low-income populations in the bank's franchise area of 22 states. This program included grantmaking, development of new training materials in Spanish, Vietnamese, Russian, Farsi, Mandarin, a national EITC program using Bank volunteers in 12 markets in partnership with the IRS, and the implementation of financial literacy training programs with community-based organizations in cities across the U.S.

Before joining Bank of America, Karen worked in the Boston area in real estate development and property management. She was national vice president at two small private development/management firms with mixed multifamily portfolios of subsidized and conventional properties. She was also involved in the development and marketing of a multifamily rental property in Boston and a condominium project in Connecticut. In her role as Vice President of Bay Management Corp. in Boston, she also managed human resources and insurance for two hundred fifty employees.

Karen says, "I am honored to have been selected by HDC. It's an exciting time in the life of the organization, and it's wonderful to have a board of dedicated, talented and committed volunteers. I have big shoes to fill, following in the footsteps of Linda Netherton and Doug Longhurst, but I hope to make them proud with the help of an incredibly talented and dedicated staff here."

Karen's volunteer work has included Chair of the Board of Women in Community Service and Board member of Women Work!, both national nonprofit organizations. She has been active with Hillsboro 2020, served on the Workforce Investment Board for Multnomah and Washington counties, as well as on the WIBs for San Francisco and Oakland. She has been a volunteer at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility, and served on the board of the Oakland Family Independence Initiative, an IDA program in California.

Karen Shawcross
503.693.2937 Ext. 104
kshawcross@hdcnwo.org