Karen Maria Alston is affectionately described as a waymaker. She is a cultural and lifestyle expert, dynamic entrepreneur and brand strategist. For over two decades, Karen has built a career working on impactful branding and marketing campaigns that touch the lives of millions of consumers. An executive, marketer, brand manager, entrepreneur, strategist, storyteller, innovator, women’s advocate and thought leader, Karen Maria Alston is an award-winning proven expert. She is known on social media for her hashtag #beingkarenalston.
Karen is a marketing and branding executive, in her former role, Karen was the Chief Marketing Officer for Eagle Academy, a network of charter schools in Washington, DC. Karen is responsible for all communications, marketing, outreach and public affairs. Prior to her current role, Karen operated a boutique branding and marketing agency founded in 2002, Alston Marketing Group. (www.alstonmarketing.com) In addition to her professional career, Karen is the CEO and Founder of the executive women’s professional development and gender parity platform, The Spectrum Circle (www.thespectrumcircle.com).
Born as a 3rd generation entrepreneur, Karen knew early on in her career she would always have an entrepreneurial entity in addition to her corporate career and would follow in the footsteps of previous generations. In addition to her success as an entrepreneur, earlier in her career Karen enjoyed working in the technology and financial services industries in management positions at JP Morgan Chase, America Online and MBNA (Bank of America).
Sought after for her marketing, cultural, entrepreneurial and political knowledge, Karen is a frequent TV and media contributor and has been featured on several national news outlets including: The Today Show, MSNBC, Al Jazeera, Fox News, BOLD TV, News One Now with Roland Martin and numerous other podcasts and radio interviews. Karen is an internationally acclaimed public speaker and commentator on a range of topics including strategic management, marketing, branding, authentic leadership, diversity, wellness, women’s empowerment, gender bias & inclusion and the glass ceiling. Karen has received dozens of awards for her accomplishments in leadership, marketing, entrepreneurship, branding and wellness. Karen is a member of American Enterprise Institute’s Leadership Network. Karen serves on several community and industry boards including American Marketing Association (2008-2018) and The Edgewood Brookland Family Support Collaborative (2012 – present).
Karen received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Finance from Howard University. Several post graduate executive education certificates including: Branding and Design from Harvard University, Non-Profit Management from Kellogg School of Business at Northwestern University, and two leadership programs at Harvard Business School. Karen is a 2022 graduate of the Goldman Sachs Black in Business program. Currently, Karen is enrolled in the Columbia Business School – Chief Marketing Officer Program with an anticipated Fall 2023 graduation date.
