Karen is a dynamic leader with a career spanning diverse sectors including corporate events, nonprofit management and media. Currently serving as the Executive Director at Healing Hands Worldwide, Inc., (HHW) Karen directs daily operations, fosters critical client and community relationships, and leads fundraising campaigns and impactful events, while leveraging her key skills to enhance organizational visibility and engagement.

 

Prior to joining the HHW team, Karen served as Director of Major Gifts at the University of the Virgin Islands, where she drove comprehensive initiatives that boosted engagement and support in the areas of marketing, alumni relations and conference and community event management.

 

Her earlier roles, include serving as Director of Corporate and Community Events at International Capital and Management Company, (a subsidiary of Cancer Treatment Centers of America), where she was charged with directing the company’s charitable contributions strategy, as well as an extensive array of internal and external corporate and community engagement events to include corporate galas, cocktail receptions, conferences, executive retreats, off-site meetings, speaker series, youth programs, community festivals, cancer fundraising initiatives, projects, and programs, underscoring her expertise in managing diverse initiatives.

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Hughes, who is also a Graduate Fellow of the prestigious Poynter Institute for Media Studies in St. Petersburg, Florida, played a prominent role in New York’s burgeoning media community as an integral part of the New York Daily News team, where she served as Editorial Director for the newspaper’s Multicultural Markets Division, where she managed large teams and delivered compelling content and successful marketing strategies. 

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Born and raised in London, England, Karen holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism/Mass Communications from The City College of New York and is actively involved in community service through long-standing founding board affiliations to include, The Boys and Girls Club, Inc. of the USVI and Healing Hands Worldwide, Inc..

 

Karen and her husband Kevin are the proud parents of two sons, Kevin II and Kaden.