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.
Ten Strands CEO Karen Cowe reflects on her first ten years at Ten Strands. She has been pivotal in leading the organization and the state to ensure that students across California are equipped with the knowledge necessary to create healthy communities.
I’m in Scotland this month visiting my family and working remotely. On Monday, on my drive to my village, I was thinking about this assignment and reflecting on the themes some of my colleagues chose for their statements of purpose—to contribute more than we take, tradition, and community. For me, it’s the sense of belonging […]
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 […]
Fish are jumpin’ and we’re gearing up for a busy summer at Ten Strands! We’ll be supporting and participating in three professional learning institutes in June, July, and August. The first event is the EEI Teacher Ambassador Training Institute (TA Institute) which will be held at the Lake Natoma Inn in Folsom, California. This is […]
The first time I visited America was when I was just out of high school and I spent the summer in Mt. Kisco, New York. Until then, I’d lived in two villages—Chirnside in the Scottish Borders and Rosedale Abbey in the North Yorkshire Moors—both with a population of less than 1,300 people. My trip was […]