Karen H. Thomas, FAIA

An award-winning architect, community leader, and business executive, Karen serves on Gensler’s Board of Directors, Leadership Operations, and Management Committees, while overseeing five West Coast offices comprising our Northwest Region as Co-Managing Principal. Karen also co-leads our Client Relationships community, globally taking care of top client accounts, our Strategic Accounts Hub, and sponsoring the firmwide gMBA program. Over her 40-year career she has built expertise in numerous practice areas, including higher education, sports, aviation, retail, and hospitality, as well as sciences and healthcare. Combining her passion and experience on major building projects with design experience and urban revitalization, she has had impact both nationally and globally.

Karen has been deeply involved in the Seattle community as Chair of the Board to the Seattle Sports Commission, and Board Director for Seattle ArtsFund and Visit Seattle. She serves as a Senior Advisory Council for the Bloedel Reserve and sits on the Building Cyber Security Advisory Board in Washington, D.C., as well as serving appointments as a Mayoral Commissioner and on the MLB Host Committee for the Seattle All Star Games. She has been invited into the distinguished International Women’s Forum, while having been named as a ‘Woman of Influence’ by the Puget Sound Business Journal and selected for the ‘Power 100’ list of Washington State’s most impactful business leaders. Karen earned her degree in Architecture from the University of Texas at Austin. She was inducted as a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects in 2018, the highest level of career achievement within the profession.