Karen M. R. Townsend, Ph.D., is President and CEO of KTownsend Consulting, an award-winning organizational development firm specializing in human-centered leadership.

Her clients include educational institutions, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and Fortune 500 companies. A nationally recognized thought leader, Dr. Karen is known for helping leaders recognize and leverage the potential, talent, and skills of every individual. Her insights have been featured in local, regional, and national publications, and her mission is simple: to help clients live and lead… confidently.

Prior to launching her consulting practice, Dr. Karen spent fifteen years in higher education, where she developed and implemented programs for first-generation college students and led faculty development initiatives.

Dr. Karen is also the founder of About My Sisters, an organization on a mission to empower one million women and girls, and the host of the nationally recognized Sister to Sister Conference. Founded in 1993, the conference is one of the longest-running women’s empowerment events in the United States. Her work has reached global audiences, including the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic, the United Kingdom, and Johannesburg, South Africa, where she served as a featured panelist on “Radical Self-Care.” A career highlight includes her selection to participate in Oprah Winfrey’s Live the Life You Want! masterclass, where she shared her passion for self-care with a worldwide audience.

Dr. Karen is the author of the best-selling book It All Started When I Stopped Using Lotion: One Woman’s Journey From Chaos to Calm, affectionately known as “The Lotion Book.” The book chronicles her personal journey toward balance and inspires women to “Take their TiME! (Time for ME!)”—a message now used by organizations worldwide to support the advancement of high-potential women leaders.

Dr. Karen is deeply committed to community service and currently serves on the boards of the Boys and Girls Club of Dayton, the Miami Valley Fair Housing Center, and the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce. She previously served on the Diversity Advisory Council for The Dayton Business Journal, the Community Advisory Board for The Dayton Daily News, and the inaugural Civic Leaders Council for the United States Air Force Research Laboratory. She is a former board member of YWCA Dayton, where she served on the Resource Development Committee and as a presenter for the Sojourn leadership program.

Dr. Karen’s honors include being named a Woman of Influence by YWCA Dayton, being recognized by The Dayon Business Journal and Governor Mike DeWine in the category of “Women-Owned Business of the Year,” and receiving the John H. Patterson Award from the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce—the first female-owned, minority-owned business to ever receive the award. Dr. Karen holds degrees from Kentucky State University, The Ohio State University, and the University of Dayton, is a certified diversity practitioner, a graduate of Goldman Sachs’ 10,000 Small Businesses Program, and a 2025 Executive Education Scholar at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.

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