Karen is a vice president and the climate adaptation lead for the water group at AECOM Metro New York where she oversees the extreme weather initiative for the region. With more than 20 years of experience, Karen manages multidisciplinary teams that develop strategic solutions for the planning, design, and construction of complex infrastructure projects, focusing on climate adaptation. Working across the engineering, ecology, and landscape architecture fields, she specializes in employing a comprehensive approach in integrating resilient and sustainable elements for both coastal and inland projects. Currently, Karen manages Rebuild By Design – Hudson River for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the municipalities of Hoboken, Jersey City, and Weehawken, New Jersey, and other public and private stakeholders to design and construct a coastal flood risk reduction project that will secure a more resilient future for one of the country’s densest and most transit-oriented areas. She earned a Bachelor of Science in agricultural and biological engineering from Cornell University with a concentration in environmental systems engineering and a graduate certificate in water resources engineering from the Stevens Institute of Technology.