Karen Thorn, major gift officerKaren Thorn
Director

Karen comes to St. Joseph’s Foundation and Barrow Neurological Foundation as a major gifts officer with more than two decades of fundraising and board member experience. Before joining the foundations, Karen served as the senior manager of major gifts and special events for The Phoenix Symphony.

After losing her brother to AIDS in 1983, Karen began fundraising for The Malta Center and Southwest Center for HIV/AIDS. She has also raised funds for Phoenix Children’s Hospital, Crisis Nursery and The American Heart Association. She currently serves as a trustee for the St. Barnabas Foundation and previously served in a similar role with the Pi Beta Phi Fraternity. During her work with Pi Beta Phi she was a member of the major donors committee for the national chapter’s endowment campaign. She helped establish the Evelyn Peters Kyle Society for annual giving. She also served as the local chair for the 2007 national convention.

Karen attended the University of Nebraska where she majored in secondary education/mathematics. When not cheering for the Huskers, she enjoys spending time with her three children, traveling, reading and hiking in the Arizona desert.