Karen was born in Montre´al, Québec, Canada and has also lived in Ontario, Canada. She currently lives in Seattle, Washington where she recently finished her undergraduate studies at the University of Washington where she focused on international development at the Jackson School of International Studies. During her time at university, Karen supported a variety of local actions and civic engagement campaigns at OneAmerica, a Seattle-based immigrant rights advocacy organization. Later, she worked on a grant for survivors of gender-based violence on the Monitoring and Evaluation team at Vital Voices Global Partnership in Washington, DC. These experiences inspired her to join GHC and return to her parents’ home country of Burundi to serve the community there. While in Burundi, Karen is excited to explore other parts of the Great Lakes region, speak Kirundi and French, and experience Burundi’s emerging art, music, and literary scenes.