Karen Baker - President, Boathouse Group Inc

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Work Background

BoathouseFounder and President

Nov. 2021Washington DC-Baltimore AreaLaunched a Washington Metropolitan area office in 2021. Currently navigating a leadership role with a 70-person agency that provides traditional advertising, digital acquisition, social media, communications, and social impact marketing—leveraging experience directing organizational frameworks, an ability to translate objectives into results, and an aptitude for fostering client relationships to deliver against goals. "Boathouse was started in 2001 by two rowers who, after years at the biggest agencies in New England and the world, wanted to bring a new type of performance-mindedness to the agency business. We named and built our company around the idea of individual expertise melded with pure teamwork."

Think Local First DCCo Executive Director

Dec. 2017 - Oct. 2021Washington D.C. Metro AreaConsulted for four years with the executive leadership and board of directors to design creative strategic marketing initiatives focused on driving deeper engagement and product affinity activities with existing stakeholders, state and local agencies, and new strategic partners. •Doubled annual fundraising revenue FY2018], with a 5% increase [FY2019] through redesigning the sponsorship business, revenue, and corporate and nonprofit partnership models. •Spearheaded the design and execution of social impact programming for indie small business retailers, garnering 500+ attendees [2019] and 1,200 virtually [2020]—DC Retail Summit •Increased stakeholders, public/private partnerships, community, and media partnerships by 35%

URU THE RIGHT TO BE INCMarketing and Strategy Consultant

Nov. 2015 - Jul. 2016New Haven, ConnecticutChanging The Face of Medicine Initiative is a multi-media project that was designed a documentary, Black Women In Medicine, which will air on American Public Television stations in Fall 2016. Alongside the documentary is a companion book, Against All Odds: Celebrating Black Women In Medicine. Goal: increase the number of African Americans physicians (all disciplines) from 4% to 7% by 2030. Lead a team of consultants in strategy and development -business development, brand and experiential marketing, communications/media and fundraising and sponsorship. Changing the Face of Medicine Initiative is a groundbreaking multimedia documentary project and educational initiative that celebrates the history, status and future of women of color in medicine.

NewSchool of Architecture & DesignAdjunct Faculty Member

Aug. 2015 - Aug. 2017OnlineThe first cohort of faculty hired to teach Design Thinking course for Laureate University/Domus Academy in collaboration with the University of Petroleum and Engineering Studies Milan to freshman auto and civil engineering students. UPES will be the first university in India to require undergraduate students to complete coursework in Design Thinking.

Green FestivalsRegional Director (DC, MD, VA)

Jan. 2015 - Jun. 2017Washington D.C. Metro AreaLead the strategic initiatives, media and marketing and community partnership for the DC, MD and VA region. Recruited and managed the regional advisory committee. Green Festival is America’s largest and longest-running sustainability and green living event. We bring together the world’s most trusted companies, innovative brands, national and local businesses, pioneering thinkers, and conscious consumers in one place to promote the best in sustainability and green living.

American Public University SystemAdjunct Professor

Jan. 2014 - Aug. 2020OnlineTaught BA and AA students online in the School of Business: Business and Conference Hospitality Mgmt, Hospitality Marketing, Meeting and Convention Planning, Club Management and Destinations Management and Marketing

Center City Public Charter SchoolsOperations Consultant

Sep. 2011 - Jun. 2012Washington D.C. Metro AreaCreated a Business Operations Procedures Manual for the Operations team for Six Campuses. Interim Operations Manager for two Campuses (Brightwood and Trinidad). Responsible for Local/State/Federal Compliance, Accounting/Procurement, Student Information Management, Enrollment, Facilities Management, Human Resource Support and IT Support Management.

Coppin State UniversityAdjunct Faculty, Entertainment Management Program

Jan. 2011 - May. 2013Baltimore, Maryland AreaTaught artist, entertainment, tourism and hospitality management courses within the Entertainment Management degree program.

The George Washington University School of BusinessAdjunct Faculty Member

Mar. 2005 - Dec. 2020Washington D.C. Metro AreaTaught Marketing Quarterly under theEvent Management Institute to professional adults learners. Previously acted as a student advisor.

Sevenconcepts IncChief Executive Officer

Mar. 1998 - Oct. 2021Washington, District of Columbia, United StatesCLIENTS Isom Global Strategies, LLC. Consulted for six years on the following client projects: •National Park Service: Increased visitation for NPS Fort Dupont Parks’ Summer Concert Series to 32.6k attendees [2019], a 520% increase [2018]; and produced the first-ever live-stream concert series, delivering an 82% increase in viewers and expanded reach to parts of Africa, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, and Japan [2020]. •Industrial Bank: Drove a notable boost in social media growth in 2018, reporting a 106% increase in impressions, an 11.5% increase in followers, and a 246% increase in engagement. •Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA): delivering an ad-buy viewer rate that surpassed the benchmark of 29.6% for government and advocacy industries and increased followers across Twitter and Facebook. DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities (DCCAH). For eight years, conceptualized, designed, planned, and executed strategic and experiential marketing initiatives. •2009 Dance DC Festival delivered the highest number of attendees in Kennedy Center Millennium Stage and the festival's history. Frontline Marketing & Promotions. Managed three regions (DC, MD, and VA) for five years. Focus: on and off-premise marketing, sponsorship dollars, mobile campaigns, and signature events for Pernod-Ricard products, Martell Cognac, and Seagram’s. •Oversaw 25 retail accounts, 72 sponsored and partnered events, and designed 12 signature events a year. •Increased off-premise sales by 36% in one month and on-premise by 50% amongst ten markets. Black Entertainment Television & Viacom. Led the event division for Heart & Soul, Emerge, BET Weekend magazines, and BET Books (Arabesque) for all national events and tours for B2C activations for seven years. •Managed relationships and collaborations between internal departments and external national corporate and advertising partnerships. •Increased book sales by 18% among military readers at base retail stores.