Dr. Karen A. Williams is the Vice President of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management at York College, City University of New York. She works with the Provost on strategic enrollment management and student success initiatives to improve retention and graduation. Within her extensive portfolio is leadership training and oversight of Student Government and other campus leaders who are responsible for participating in the College’s shared governance structure. Before her appointment at York, she served as the Deputy to the VP of Student Affairs at LaGuardia Community College, where she focused on resolving policy challenges hindering student success.

Among her accomplishments, she served as Co-Chair for the Standard IV (Support of the Student Experience) Committee for the College’s Middle States Self-Study. She was on the grant writing team that secured a five-year, $2.8M Federal TRIO grant to support retention among LatinX community college students.

She also secured a three-year, $360,000 grant to support enrollment and retention among pregnant and parenting students. Before her tenure at LaGuardia, she served at several schools, including The New School, Sarah Lawrence ​College, and the Catholic University of America. Dr. Williams received her Doctor of Education​, Higher Education Administration Concentration, from Northeastern University in 2012. She received her Master of Education​, Counseling and Development from George Mason University and her Bachelor of Arts​, Africana Studies, from the University at Albany, SUNY.

Dr. Williams also holds the Registered Parliamentarian credential from the National Association of Parliamentarians, and she is the Chartering President of the Parliamentarians of Westchester, New York, serving Westchester and Bronx Counties.