Karen began her career with the City on February 17, 1992 in the Public Works and Engineering Department. She was hired as a trainer and has served with the Office of Talent & Organizational Development for 25 years. She has decades of experience in adult education and has been on staff at the E.B. Cape Center since it opened its doors in 1996  She was hired as a trainer and has served with the Office of Talent & Organizational Development (OT&OD) most recently as its Training Administrator.

Karen earned her B.S. in Urban Studies from Morgan State University of Baltimore, Maryland, an M.B.A. in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix, and a C.P.M (Certified Public Manager) from Southwest Texas State University. Her area of expertise included professional development training for employees at all levels in the organization. The Leadership Institute (Public Works and Engineering), Foundations of Supervision, Superior Performance Program (SPP), CAPS (City Accreditation Program for Supervisors) and Listen to the Expert programs were major training events coordinated, facilitated, and monitored by Ms. Harris. In the past years, Karen has taught supervision, leadership, diversity, and communication skills courses for participants from PWE as well as the Health Department, Municipal Courts, Library, and other municipalities, as well as supervising training staff at OT&OD.

"I have had 25 years of learning experiences and memories at this Training Center. I had the opportunity to attend and complete 3 major programs presented here at the Center. 1) The Certified Public Management (CPM) a nationally accredited program offered by Texas State University’s William P. Hobby Center for Public Service. 2) The Training and Development Certificate Program offered by the College of Continuing Education at the University of Oklahoma. 3) Leadership Institute Program (LIP) created by the E.B. Cape Center management team. I’ve taught several courses and supervised and administered several programs. I’ve met so many people who attended classes at the training center. I will always treasure the memories formed over the 25 years."

Whether she served as a trainer in PWE or Human Resources, she always demonstrated a sincere passion for workplace learning. There is no doubt that there are thousands of employees and supervisors who have been inspired by her teachings in one or more of the City’s signature learning programs.

From the entire OT&OD Team, we thank you for all your contributions and hope you thoroughly enjoy retirement!

As we round out 2021, we have much to be grateful for in 2021 and much to be hopeful about in 2022.

I am grateful for how our Team has demonstrated adaptability in their transition from in-person to virtual learning beginning with New Employee Orientation and New Supervisor Orientation. And in early 2022, we plan to launch City Accreditation Program for Supervisors (CAPS) and the Strengthening Your Core (SYC) Program also in a virtual environment.

We are hopeful that sometime in 2022, we can return to in-person learning. I am sure you miss it just as much as we do! Until then, we will continue to use MS Teams as our virtual learning platform and ensure that learning is still interactive and value-added.

We are grateful for Karen Harris’s 29 years of dedicated service as a learning professional. We will certainly miss her caring spirit and wealth of knowledge that she generously shared with us but wish her the very best as she begins her next chapter - retirement!

I am hopeful that in 2022, our OT&OD Team will be fully staffed. We are going through a transformational phase where we are looking at our systems, practices, and impact with a new lens so that we are better positioned to meet and exceed your learning and development needs in the future.

Lastly, I am grateful for your support and for engaging with us! I wish you a wonderful holiday season with great food, fellowship, and powerful learning moments too!