Karen Pittman

Karen Pittman is a founding partner of Knowledge to Power Catalysts, a new consulting firm established to increase the rate at which leaders transform knowledge into power to change the odds that all children and youth will thrive. She is the co-founder and former president and CEO of the Forum for Youth Investment, which provides leadership and on-the-ground action to prepare students for success. She worked with the Urban Institute, the Children’s Defense Fund, and Academy for Educational Development, before serving as director of the President's Crime Prevention Council during the Clinton administration. She also worked with Gen. Colin Powell to create America’s Promise before launching the Forum for Youth Investment in 1998 with Merita Irby, also a partner in KP Catalysts. She is an author of three books and many articles on youth issues and serves on numerous boards and panels focused on education and youth development.

Pittman will advise and contribute to projects in AIR’s Human Services Division, focused on work around youth, family, and community development; deliver lectures and mentor fellows and junior researchers associated with the Pipeline Partnership Program (P3); and provide insights and expertise to the AIR Equity Initiative.