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Karen Chacón

Latino STEM Alliance

Executive Director

Karen Chacón is the Executive Director at the Latino STEM Alliance based in Boston, MA. The Latino STEM Alliance inspires underserved youth to achieve educational and career success in STEM fields. Karen has extensive experience working in the non-profit and public sector, and has dedicated her life and career to serving the community and empowering youth and families. 

Before joining the Latino STEM Alliance, Karen served as Chief of Staff for the Center for the Application of Prevention Technologies at Educational Development Center (EDC), a national center providing training and technical assistance in substance abuse prevention. Karen has served in a number of leadership roles throughout her career. As a teen, Karen was deeply involved with the Hyde Square Task Force, a youth development non-profit organization, which propelled her to working at the Boston City Council upon college graduation. She then served in various fundraising and leadership roles at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Virginia, University of Lynchburg in Virginia, and Pace University in New York. 

Born and educated in Boston, Karen grew up in Boston’s Latin Quarter, Jamaica Plain, and is a first generation college graduate. She attended Boston Latin School and holds a bachelor’s degree from Wheelock College - now a campus of Boston University - and a master’s degree from Springfield College. Karen also holds professional certificates in Community-Based Human Services, and Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion; and is a certified Project Manager. 

In addition to her role at the Latino STEM Alliance, Karen serves as a co-chair of the Greater Boston Latino Network, a collective of Latino-led and Latino-serving community organizations in the Greater Boston area, working together to address historical underrepresentation of Latinos in leadership roles and improving education for Latino students. In 2021, she was appointed to Boston Public Schools’ STEM Advisory Committee.