Staff & Leadership

Karen Parker, President & Chief Executive Officer 

Karen Parker is the President & Chief Executive Officer of Safe Alliance in Charlotte, N.C., an organization that provides sexual assault and domestic violence services to more than 10,000 people annually throughout Charlotte-Mecklenburg.

At Safe Alliance, Karen oversees an agency budget of $6 million+ and leads more than 100 staff. In addition, she represents Safe Alliance through local, state, and national activities and serves as the organization's lead decision maker and spokesperson.

Karen also participates on a number of state and local committees focusing on policy development and advocacy. In 2009, she was appointed by N.C. Governor Beverly Perdue to chair the North Carolina Domestic Violence Commission. She also is a past board co-chair of the North Carolina Coalition against Domestic Violence. Currently Karen serves as chair of the CharMeck Family Justice Center Steering Committee and is a member of the Nonprofit Mecklenburg Executive Collaborative Steering Committee. In 2017, she was awarded the Peter Gilcrest Lifetime Achievement Award from the Crime Victim's Coalition. In 2019, Karen was honored for her equity and diversity work when she was recognized by Leading on Opportunity as an Inaugural Opportunity Champion and by the Charlotte Association of Fundraising Professionals as Outstanding Champion of Diversity.

Karen graduated with honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with concentrations in psychology and women's studies. She also holds a master's degree in Urban Studies with a concentration in Nonprofit Administration from Georgia State University in Atlanta. Karen has been employed for the past 29 years with a number of governmental and social justice organizations in North Carolina, Georgia, and Texas working to assist trauma survivors and end domestic and sexual violence.

2019 Safe Alliance Staff

Agency Leadership