Karen Stout

Since 2015, Dr. Karen A. Stout has served as president and CEO of Achieving the Dream (ATD), leading a network of over 300 community colleges working to become profoundly accessible hubs of learning, credentialing, and economic mobility that eliminate inequities in educational and workforce outcomes.

Dr. Stout currently serves as chair of the Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research Advisory Board at North Carolina State University, as co-chair of the University of Maryland Global Campus Doctorate of Management in Community College Policy and Administration Advisory Board, and is a member of the Common App Board of Directors, College Promise National Advisory Board, and the Community College Research Center Advisory Board.

She also represents Achieving the Dream on the Washington Higher Education Secretariat, participates as a mentor and frequent presenter for the Aspen Rising Presidents Fellowship and Aspen New Presidents Fellowship, and has been a long-time presenter for the League of Innovation Executive Leadership Institute. In 2022, Dr. Stout was nominated by President Biden and confirmed by the Senate to serve a six-year term as a member of the National Council on the Humanities.