About Karen
Karen Cowe is an education-industry executive with over 30 years of experience in sales and fund development, marketing, program design, professional learning, business development, and operations. Prior to joining Ten Strands, she was president and chief executive officer of Key Curriculum Press, an innovative and award-winning K–12 STEM publisher. Before that, she was managing director of Burlington Books in Athens, Greece—the first publisher in Greece to offer locally-focused English language instructional materials for Greek students. In addition to her understanding of the complexities of the US education landscape, she has valuable insights into education in other nations, having built relationships in Europe, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. Karen holds a bachelor in business and a minor in education from Saint John’s College, York and a master of business administration from Saint Mary’s College, California.
At the end of 2020, Karen Cowe, Ten Strands’ CEO, and Linda Livers, Ten Strands’ consultant, interviewed three staff members of the Park Day School in Oakland, California: Angela Taylor, head of school; Jennifer Cooper, facilities manager; and Josie Shapiro, director of admissions. This interview was originally published as a case study on the National […]
In a letter to Ten Strands’ community, CEO Karen Cowe reflects on the challenges and accomplishments of 2020 and expresses appreciation for all partners and supporters who have been part of this journey towards statewide K–12 environmental literacy.
This interview between California Association of Science Educators (CASE) and Karen Cowe, Ten Strands CEO and California Environmental Literacy Initiative project director, originally appeared on the CASE website and was republished with permission. Tell us about Ten Strands and the work of the California Environmental Literacy Initiative. Ten Strands was founded eight years ago by […]
I was in class three times last week learning about land and water. The first was Laura Honda’s 4th grade class at Manor Elementary School in Fairfax, California. Laura is a Teacher Ambassador for the Education and Environment Initiative Curriculum (EEI) and uses the EEI extensively with her students. Laura was teaching Lesson 5 from […]
A few weeks ago I learned about a course that was open to the public at UC Berkeley, Edible Education 101: The Rise and Future of the Food Movement. The Edible School Yard Project manages the public tickets through Eventbrite. If you sign up for information, the Tuesday before the following Monday’s event you get […]
Last Saturday, I attended the first of five focus group meetings for the 2016 revision of the Science Framework for California Public Schools. The Framework is being revised because California recently adopted the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). The revision of the Science Framework, and the inclusive process the state plans to follow, creates a […]
I’m a big fan of graphic novels. I especially like when they take hard-to-grasp subjects or big ideas and successfully break them down so they are accessible to many more people than just experts. One of my favorites is Osamu Tezuka’s eight volume story, Buddha. In the same way, I love the Royal Society for the Encouragement of […]
Ten Strands helps secure $6M to develop climate and environmental curriculum!