Karen Wawrzaszek

Karen Wawrzaszek is a Regional Director for our Foundation & Institutional Advisors practice at Northern Trust. In her role, she partners with foundations, endowments and not-for-profit organizations to help them achieve their investment, financial, and mission-oriented goals. Karen is a recognized thought leader and subject matter expert in Philanthropy, ESG, & Impact Investing. She is sought out to write articles, speak on podcasts and at conferences, including, Institutional Investors Forum, the UN Global People’s Summit and the UN Ideagen’s Sustainability Conference.

Karen joins Northern Trust’s Foundation and Institutional Advisory practice with more than 25 years of experience as an advisor and OCIO helping her clients identify and implement optimal investment programs that meet their unique needs and that also consider their overall mission. She has held leadership positions in well-established family offices such as Rockefeller and Pitcairn and more recently, she served as the Regional President for the DC area region of a large national wealth management firm. In this role, she was a member of the firm’s Philanthropy Practice Group and Responsible Investment Advisory Board – helping to shape the advice and solutions for private foundation, not-for-profit, & tax-exempt organizations.

Karen is passionate about mentoring and community service and serves as an Executive Committee Member and Investment Chair of the Meyer Foundation, Chairman of the Board for Teach for America DC, and a Finance Chair for Global Impact Ventures, and Board Secretary for Student Conservation Association. She is a Global Advisory Council Member of Beyond the Billion, an organization dedicated to improving venture capital funding for women and also a committee member for 50/50 Women on Boards. Prior Board involvement includes the Washington Area Women’s Foundation, the Shakespeare Theatre Company, Black Girl Ventures, and Eastside Domestic Violence of Seattle, WA. She is a member of Inside Philanthropy, Leadership Greater Washington, Washington DC Estate Planning Council, Financial Planning Association, and Family Firm Institute.

2023

She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Finance from Wichita State University.

Karen was named a Washingtonian Top Financial Adviser in 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024, and 2025 and is a graduate and featured member of Leadership Greater Washington’s Signature Program. She is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional, Certified Trust and Financial Advisor (CTFA), and a Certified Exit Planning Advisor.