Karen Schwartzman

Principal, Polaris Public Relations

Karen heads Polaris Public Relations, a strategic communications company formed in 1999 and based in Boston. Polaris serves executives, corporations, educational institutions, and nonprofit organizations seeking publicity or defending against public exposure associated with unusual events, opportunities or circumstances. Karen provides strategic advisory services and materials to support communications to internal and external audiences, emphasizing: crisis and reputation management; media intervention; staff communications; community relations; and customer/client communications. A former senior vice president of Fleishman-Hillard, Inc., Karen provided litigation support, crisis management, and general public relations services to a diverse mix of corporate and institutional clients. She joined the firm in 1998 after eight years with BankBoston Corporation where, as director of media relations, she served as the Company’s chief liaison to the press, managing proactive public relations initiatives and BankBoston’s reputation through mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, employee misconduct, stock market turbulence, and management reorganizations. Karen spent the first 13 years of her career in public service to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. She holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Boston University and a master’s degree in urban planning and public administration from New York University. Karen also serves as vice president of the board of DEAF, Inc., a Boston-based organization that for 30 years has helped deaf people in Massachusetts to live independent and enriched lives.