Karen Wilson

Karen Wilson has a diverse work experience spanning various industries and roles. Karen began their career as an Emergency Medical Technician at GEM Ambulance in 2018, followed by a similar role at Cardinal Ambulance in 2019. In the same year, they also worked as a Tullman-Ercek Group Laboratory Aide at DTE Lab.

In 2019, Karen joined the Product Development and Management Association of Chicago as a Whitespace Product Development Challenge Coordinator. Karen successfully oversaw the recruitment and execution of an intercollegiate design innovation competition, expanding its engagement reach and transitioning it to an online format due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

From 2019 to 2021, Karen worked at City Health Tech Inc. as a Design Engineer/Logistics, where they designed and manufactured a handwashing tool and utilized agile practices for product maintenance.

In 2020, Karen worked as an Engineering Assistant at JRC Web Accessories, where they managed the financial control process for online orders and maintained a product catalog.

Karen's most recent experiences include serving as a Business Architect/Technical Project Manager at Verizon, where they prevented operational expenses overrun and captured business rules and requirements. Karen also worked as an Activity Management Planner and Integrator at ASRC Federal.

Currently, Karen is Operations and Engineering Lead at Sandia National Laboratories.

Karen Wilson obtained a Bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 2022. Karen also pursued a Master of Science in Management from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, completing it in 2023. Prior to their undergraduate studies, they attended Northwestern University, specializing in Manufacturing and Design Engineering. Karen graduated from Passaic Valley Regional High School in 2018. In terms of certifications, they acquired the Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) certification from New Jersey in May 2018. In addition, they obtained the Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt certification from the Management & Strategy Institute in 2021 and the Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) certification from the Scrum Alliance in August 2021. Karen also completed the Orientation to Cave Rescue course provided by the National Cave Rescue Commission in an undisclosed year.