About Dr. Karen

Dr. Karen Y. Wilson-Starks, Ph.D. President and CEO

When values based organizations experience silos of people who do not talk and share information with one another, or blame, finger point, and fail to be accountable, there is a crisis of leadership.

When values based organizations experience silos of people who do not talk and share information with one another, or blame, finger point, and fail to be accountable, there is a crisis of leadership. The result is unnecessary mistakes, costly errors, and poor morale. In these tough times, executive leaders must successfully identify their next best steps to create and/or restore a winning culture and to put the communication and feedback systems in place to get the desired business results. Frequently the challenges are due to exponential growth and an organization that has outgrown its infrastructure. They may need to select additional executive talent and/or onboard and integrate new talent into the organization. Growing companies also must develop existing leaders, build and develop high performance teams, and rethink the current reward structures.

In such times of turbulence, executives seek clarity, a sounding board, and a trusted advisor to identify the path forward and provide executive advisement on options. Dr. Karen Y. Wilson-Starks serves as the map maker to co-create productive destinations and identify the way to get there. She creates a customized journey atlas and serves as a guide on the executive and organizational leadership journey. As a result of working with Dr. Wilson-Starks, clients more quickly get the right people in the right places, adding value to the mission of the organization.

Dr. Karen Y. Wilson-Starks is the host of the twice weekly podcast, The Voice of Leadership, author of Lead Yourself First: The Senior Leader’s Guide to Engaging Your People for Greater Performance and Impact; and creator of the online course: Teams Empowered for Dynamic Organizational Results. Her upcoming TV show, Dr. Karen Speaks Leadership on Raven International Network will air on Roku and Amazon Fire. Currently the President of TRANSLEADERSHIP, INC.®, she has more than 30 years of experience as a trusted advisor for executives in corporations, the US Military and Federal Government, and non-profit leaders in faith based organizations and Foundations.

Her previous positions include serving as an active duty Army Psychologist at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.; the First Infantry Division at Fort Riley, Kansas; the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York; operating private practices in a variety of locations; functioning as the Chief of the Psychology Service for the Exceptional Family Member Program in Frankfurt, Germany; and working as the Chief Assessor and a Senior Program Associate for the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) in Colorado Springs. Dr. Wilson-Starks is also currently a senior on-call faculty member of CCL where she continues to provide executive education, coaching, and other services to senior level clients. She has been a senior member of the CCL Faculty since 1990 and leading TRANSLEADERSHIP, INC.® since 1995.

Educated as a Clinical Psychologist, Dr. Wilson-Starks completed her Ph.D. and master’s degrees at the University of Connecticut in Storrs. She holds active memberships in the American Psychological Association (APA), the Society for the Advancement of Consulting (SAC), the Society for Human Resource Managers (SHRM), and the Christian Leadership Alliance (CLA). Dr. Wilson-Starks previously served an elected term as Secretary and two terms as Chair of the Professional Visibility and Media Relations Committee of the Consulting Psychology Board of the American Psychological Association. She is currently a member of the APA Consulting Psychology Ethics committee.

Her co-authored article, “Consulting Competently in Multicultural Contexts” was published in the June 2008 edition of the Consulting Psychology Journal. Her article, “Team Building Success” appeared in the April 2011 issue of Outcomes Magazine and her article, “It’s Time to Build High Performance Teams” appears in the August 2011 edition of CO-OP magazine. She enjoys international travel, Broadway theatre, vacations at the ocean, and reading and writing in her leisure time. She is married to Gregory Starks, a retired Army Officer and avid amateur photographer.