CEO and Executive Director, Karen Burhans Laing, is a public health educator who has been helping people navigate the health care system for over 10 years. Karen started her career as a preschool special education teacher, and then went on to design training programs for Stride Rite and several churches. After 20 years in the workforce, Karen returned to the University of Albany to study public health. Her desire to see people live a healthier lifestyle led her to focus on Social Behavior and Community Health.

Health Literacy became her passion when she realized that our medical system was crippled by the fact that 88% of Americans are not able to communicate well with their doctors or make good health decisions on a daily basis. Karen is now using her training and experience to develop programs that are accessible to individuals with a wide range of learning styles and educational levels.

Karen is also a certified life coach and Bridges Out of Poverty trainer, and is trained in Mental Health First Aid, suicide prevention, diabetes prevention, and trauma informed care. In her spare time, she is also a Christian author and teacher. Karen lives in Schenectady with her four kids, one dog, two cats and is eagerly awaiting the birth of her first grandchild. 

 

My website is HealthLiteracyforAll.org