Karen works as an independent hotel sales broker for HelmsBriscoe, which provides site selection services to corporate, association and government clients that plan off-site meetings and conferences. She earned President's Club status in 2004 and 2005, and Master's Club in 2006 and 2007. Karen also does independent event and program management, including large corporate meetings for Target and for the Target Chip Ganassi IndyCar and NASCAR race teams. See more here. Prior to joining Deadline Communications in 1999, Karen worked for nearly a decade for Rollerblade. While at Rollerblade, Karen directed the company's integrated retail/consumer promotions, co-op advertising department, and sales and marketing conferences. As Director of Retail Marketing, she was named one of "21 Leaders for the 21st Century" by Sports Trend Magazine. Karen was previously a retail education manager and meeting planner for Clinique, a division of Estee Lauder, in New York City. Before that, she worked as a ski school sales manager for the Vail Resorts company in Vail, Colorado.