Karen Elam is the Assistant Vice President of the Center for Shared Society at the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York (JCRC-NY) and Executive Director of YouthBridge-New York. In addition to overseeing YouthBridge, she manages the JCRC’s coalition building efforts on issues including immigration and gun violence prevention. Previously, she served as the founding Executive Director of the Levine Center to End Hate at the Jewish Federation of Greater Rochester, an initiative delivering anti-bias education, training, and dialogue programs to hundreds of youth and adults across the region. Karen has extensive experience in development and communications with Jewish service organizations as well as homeless and LGBTQ+ health care initiatives in NYC and Rochester. She began her career as a Peace Corps volunteer in adult literacy and subsequently worked as a cross-cultural trainer in Honduras, Central America. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia and a Master’s degree in International Education from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her greatest source of pride has been partnering with her husband to see their triplets blossom into wonderful young adults.