image of Karen McKenzie

What exactly do you do?
I am part of a team that supports Board employees in getting the news and information they need to do their jobs and have a good experience at work. In practice that means I help get information posted on Inside the Board in a way that’s easy to find; I do a monthly e-mail with top news and events; I’m working on a project to bring “digital signage” to all our buildings; I organize the Special Achievement and 25-Year Service Awards. And a bunch of other stuff… life in Internal Coms is never boring.

Who do you report to?
Tim Markey, sr. manager of Board Internal Communications

Where were you born? Where did you grow up?
I am a DC native.

How many siblings do you have?
One older brother

Favorite (and/or dream) vacation spot
Current dream vacation is to see the Northern Lights in Iceland.

Favorite restaurant for lunch
Sweetgreen

Favorite type of food
Anything spicy; also anything chocolate

Team you root for
Washington Caps

Personal goal you want to reach in the next year
See a financial advisor and finally start making educated finance and retirement planning decisions!

Favorite quote
“Outside of a dog, a book is a man’s best friend. Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read.” - Groucho Marx

Favorite or unique part of your job
My team! I know it’s a cliché, but we work well together and I feel like we are always learning from each other, encouraging each other to come up with new ideas, and providing help and support when needed. Tim, Alyssa, Amy, and Carra really do make a positive difference in my worklife—even on “bad” or challenging days.

Recent example of legendary service you have witnessed
When rain was in the forecast on the day of the 25-Year Service Awards, Sgt. Edwin Arroyo made contingency plans to get our honorees’ family members out of the rain fast and into the building dry. He also checked the visitor registrations that morning and found that two honorees had not yet registered their family members in the system. We were able to contact the honorees to get their guests registered and processed smoothly. Proactively addressing these issues helped make the honorees and their guests feel even more special and cared for.

Employee (from another section within the division) you think should be profiled next
Eric Brooks, manager of ASAP