Karen Bassarab
Senior Program Officer II
Karen joined the Center for a Livable Future in 2015 to manage the Food Policy Networks project, a national network for food policy councils in the United States. Karen leads the Center’s work on engaging communities to drive local and state policy change. This work combines research on collaborative governance and civic engagement to advance food systems policy change and technical assistance for food policy councils and other community-based advocacy groups that translates research into practice.
Prior to joining CLF, Karen worked with a national nonprofit organization on strategies to maximize use of federal nutrition programs, a regional transportation planning agency, a local nonprofit organization to build community and school gardens, and as a consultant in food systems planning and policy. Karen holds dual master's degrees in Community and Regional Planning and Public Affairs from the University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture and the LBJ School of Public Affairs.