Karen Blackwell

Karen Blackwell is a senior consultant in Gallagher's Human Resources and Compensation Consulting practice.

Karen has more than 27 years of combined human capital and human resources consulting experience, spanning numerous industries in the public and private sector. She has successfully built and led teams of HR and talent acquisition professionals for fast-growing global companies, while strategically advising and guiding C-suite leaders on culture and employee retention and all things HR.

Before joining Gallagher, Karen was part of a senior leadership team in the building environment industry, where she led the diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) strategy and HR capability for a $163M, award-winning district. This strategy included a focus on women in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) and the buildings industry, women veterans and regional diverse collegiate organizations.

At Gallagher, Karen has led HR and talent acquisition assessments, leave design projects and HR audits for clients in the public sector, technology, healthcare, engineering, higher education and nonprofit industry. She brings a passion for talent strategy and the candidate and employee experience. Karen also enjoys advising Gallagher clients on how to improve employee engagement through the thoughtful planning and facilitation of customized employee focus groups and surveys.

Karen holds a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration from Winthrop University. Sher is a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and is certified in ProSci Change Management. She's a member of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).