A Note from Hope Katz Gibbs, publisher, Inkandescent Women magazine — What a pleasure it is to introduce you to communications expert Karen Naumann. As you’ll see below, here illustrious career has taken her around the globe, and her work has touched millions. I invite you to reach out to Karen, who also co-founded the Women’s Salon at the National Press Club. I look forward to bring you more details about that!
2025: Karen recently spearheaded the Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental and Climate Justice program’s contractual Communications team for which she developed the national outreach strategy supporting multi-billions of funds that Congress authorized in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The allocation supported climate-improving projects in communities historically excluded from energy infrastructure decisions and on the front lines of climate change.
2024: In addition to being an adjunct instructor and course developer in Crisis Communications at West Virginia University, where she instructs active military, earning a graduate degree, she led a team providing senior-level communication support services at the Department of Homeland Security.
2023: Karen was selected as project manager for a U.S. Army strategic communications and outreach contract focused on prevention, resiliency, and readiness. Additionally, she has consulted for the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, Labor (DRL), Office of Policy Planning, and Public Diplomacy (PPD). Her work focused on international human rights and democracy reports.
2019 – 2022: In 2022, she worked in South Korea as a Senior Strategic Communication Planner and Team Lead in support of the four-star-led UN Combined Forces Command at U.S. Forces Korea, where she developed communication strategy recommendations for command-wide and Republic of Korea allies. She was a Sr. Instructor at the U.S. Department of Defense’s Information School for several years, where she had the privilege of training hundreds of public affairs officers for the United States fleet and field in topics ranging from Complex Adaptive Systems Thinking to Strategic Foresight and Issues Management and Disinformation. She was also an in-house subject matter expert, contributing to evolving Information as a DOD joint function.
2013 – 2019: Karen was an executive at an established D.C. public relations firm. She has also worked in communication and digital diplomacy for the Government of Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the Consulate General of Israel to the Southwest United States. On behalf of the Government of Israel, she led strategic communication efforts in a six-state region.
Presentations and Publications: The award-winning communicator is frequently tapped as a speaker and facilitator for conferences and, events on topics ranging from Cognitive Biases and Crisis Communications to Strategic Communications and Persuasion. She is also a frequent contributor to national publications and a published author in public relations. Her innovative approach to military public affairs analysis can be found in Intercultural Public Relations.
Education: Karen is Accredited in Public Relations (APR). By earning her APR, she has demonstrated her commitment to excellence and the highest ethical standards. She also holds a PMP from the Project Management Institute. She graduated from Louisiana State University (LSU) with a bachelor’s degree in communication. Later, she received a master’s degree in communication at the University of Houston. Her graduate studies focused on crisis communications.
Affiliations: Karen is on the Board of Directors for Washington Women in Public Relations and is active in the Public Relations Society of America and the National Press Club. She is also a member of the United National Association of the National Capital Area, Information Professionals Association, Project Management Institute, Louisiana State Society, LSU Alumni – D.C. Chapter, National Association of Government Communicators, National Communication Association, and Grey Swan Guild.