Karen has been employed in the NHS since 1992 having previously worked in industry. She worked in many sectors in the NHS including primary care development, operational management and planning and commissioning. Whilst the majority of her career has been working in west Wales, Karen has also worked across organisations and regions. She was the Regional Commissioning Director for Mid and West Wales and she has also managed major service change across regions.

Prior to joining WHSSC, Karen was an Assistant Director in the Medical Directorate at Hywel Dda University Health Board, a post that gave her a wide ranging experience leading across directorates such as R&D, Medical Education, and Clinical Effectiveness.

Karen joined WHSSC in January 2019 as Director of Planning , a role she describes as an absolute privilege, developing planning and commissioning of specialised services for residents across Wales. Karen has now taken semi-retirement but remains in WHSSC as the Director with lead responsibilities for the Welsh Kidney Network   and as a Programme Director supporting the further development of WHSSC and specialised service commissioning in Wales