Current Position and Past Experience
Karen A. Stout is currently the President and CEO of Achieving the Dream, and President Emerita of Montgomery County Community College. She is a nationally renowned academic leader in strategies for enhancing student success and completion, data informed decision making, accelerating and scaling innovation, and new approaches to community college fundraising. Stout is a frequent national presenter and writer on topics ranging from leadership, student success, strategic planning, fundraising, and using data to support continuous improvement.

Prior to her role at Achieving the Dream (ATD), Stout served for 14 years as President of Montgomery County Community College (PA), an ATD Leader College and Leah Meyer Austin Award winner for significant institutional improvement supporting student achievement. From 1994 until 2001, Stout was Vice President for Advancement and Chief Administrative Officer of the Rohrer Center at Camden County College, one of New Jersey’s largest and most comprehensive community colleges. This followed her time at Community College of Baltimore County, and then Harford Community College, where she served as the Director of Planning and Communication/Foundation Executive Director.

Education, Honors and Achievements
Stout earned her B.A. in English/Journalism from the University of Delaware, her M.B.A. from University of Baltimore, and her Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from the University of Delaware.

Personal Details and Community Involvement
Stout is currently a Commissioner with the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and a member of its Executive Committee. She is a member of the President’s Advisory Board to the Community College Research Center (CCRC) at Columbia University’s Teachers College, and served as Chair from 2008-2015. She is a member of the Board of Directors of Campus Compact national coalition, and serves on the Board of Directors for the Montgomery County Community College Foundation.

Connect
You can connect with Karen Stout on LinkedIn and on Twitter @drkastout.