Karen Stanley, Vice President of Finance at Stanley Construction Company, has been named to the Harvard Business School Alumni Association Board of Directors.
Prior to this appointment, she served as Co-President and board member of the HBS African American Alumni Association, as well as Reunion Programs Committee Member for the Class of 1991.
Karen states, “The mission of the Harvard Business School is to educate leaders to make a difference in the world. This mission is personal for me, as a lifelong learner, family business executive and community advocate. I am grateful for the invitation from Dean Datar to serve in this capacity, providing experience-based insights to the school leadership and rallying the support of fellow alumni.”
Karen is also a member of the Vanderbilt University National Alumni Association Board. Prior to that, she served as Chair of the External Advisory Board for the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.
Stanley is a former Vice-Chair for Small Business at the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce, having served during the administrations of Howard Thrailkill and Ronnie Boles. As a member of the inaugural HREGI leadership team, Karen instituted the inclusion of Small Businesses in the first “Take Stock” Campaign in 2004. A member of the management team at Stanley Construction, Karen wrote the winning proposal that launched her father, the late Thornton Stanley, to win the SBA National Small Business Person of the Year in 2001.
Karen currently serves on the National Board of Directors of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., the State of Alabama Forever Wild Commission and the Board of Directors for the Land Trust of North Alabama and the Huntsville/Madison County Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Ms. Stanley earned her Bachelors degree in Chemical Engineering, magna cum laude, from Vanderbilt University and Masters degree in the same from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as well as an MBA from Harvard University. She is grateful for the educational foundation afforded by her studies at Huntsville High School and Westminster Christian Academy.
