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Karen and Amanda are long-time activists in their community. Together, they served on the Wayland Children and Parents Association (WCPA) board for a total of 11 years, both serving tenures as president with further contributions in event planning, sponsorship, and membership. Amanda also played a key role in various town-wide initiatives including fostering civic engagement among young families and supporting the construction of facilities to benefit residents of all ages. Karen is actively involved in marketing and communication for annual School Committee and Select Board election campaigns, while driving get out the vote initiatives to young families through PASS.
Why PASS?
In November 2022, Karen resigned from her role as president of a tech startup. It had become impossible to run full steam at work while watching the clock tick down to 2:30PM - the moment her impossibly short work day would end. Karen refused to make screens a babysitter for her then 7-year-old son, so late each night, she’d get back online to catch up on the work she'd missed during the afternoon hours. To no one’s surprise, she eventually burnt out. But she knew she was not alone, and that Wayland families deserved better. So she and Amanda teamed up to begin organizing parent voices, create town-wide awareness, and gather data on the problem they had set out to solve.
Career History
Karen is a seasoned executive with over two decades of experience driving change in healthcare, marketing, media, and technology. After graduating from Williams College with a BA in Psychology, she spent nearly a decade in marketing and PR, followed by a MS in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Emerson College. She spent seven years pioneering innovative treatments for adults with neurological impairments at Mount Sinai Hospital. Following her love of communication, she founded one of Boston's most profitable media studios from scratch in 2010, working with prestigious clients like the Boston Red Sox. In 2019, she accepted the role of Chief Marketing Officer at Tapple, where she launched a groundbreaking QR-driven SaaS product. She was promoted to president in 2021, and played a pivotal role in navigating the company through the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Karen is a prominent voice in the marketing industry, regularly featured as a keynote speaker at events like Startup Boston, and a frequent guest on industry podcasts. She is also deeply committed to nurturing the entrepreneurial ecosystem by advising and supporting early-stage companies, fostering the next generation of innovation.
Why PASS?
Amanda's journey as a parent led her to make a crucial decision: she transitioned to part-time private practice due to the significant cost of childcare. The plan was always to return to full-time work when her children reached school age. However, life took a different turn, and a decade later, Amanda found herself a single parent solely responsible for her children during working hours. When the year arrived for her youngest child to enter kindergarten, a new challenge arose: there were no available spots in the district’s after school care program. It was then that Amanda, along with her fellow parent and WCPA board member Karen, decided to take matters into their own hands. Recognizing the need for a solution, they resolved to work together to address this after school childcare problem head-on.
Career History
Amanda Shaw, LICSW, is an experienced mental health professional, holding a degree in psychology with a minor in legal studies from the University of Rochester and a master's in social work from Boston College. She began her career in 2006, conducting forensic evaluations in various Court Clinics earning accolades such as the Early Career Achievement Award from the Department of Mental Health and helping to establish Massachusetts' first Veterans Treatment Court. In 2011, Amanda launched her private practice specializing in forensic and immigration evaluations. With over 800 evaluations completed to date, Amanda’s professional career embodies a steadfast dedication to the field of social work, exemplifying the intersection of compassion, sought-after expertise and impactful advocacy.