After spending her childhood years in Anchorage, Alaska, Karen Godfrey first came to the Midwest to attend the University of Kansas. She graduated in 1980 as valedictorian for the School of Education with a double major in language arts and French. She started her career in Kansas by taking a position at Logan Junior High School in the Seaman District in Topeka and has remained a loyal Midwesterner ever since. She taught a combination of seventh and ninth grade English and French classes at Logan until she moved to the Freshmen Center at Seaman High School where she taught language arts. She has also had a variety of supplemental positions from cheerleader sponsor to National Junior Honor Society sponsor to her most recent roles as volleyball and track coach. Karen has continuously added to her teaching skills and knowledge. She completed a master's degree in language arts education at K. U. in 1988. In 2002, she earned National Board Certification in Early Adolescence/English Language Arts and just successfully completed the renewal process to extend her master teacher’s certificate until 2022. Karen extends her service to the profession beyond her district. She has presented workshops and served on NCA teams in other districts. She also serves as a National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education examiner. She has frequently been a part of Kansas State Board of Education advisory groups and task forces, from the Quality Performance Advisory Council to the Professional Standards Advisory Board. Her most recent role was on the Kansas Education Commission. Her true passion, though, is Kansas NEA work. When she first started teaching, she thought perhaps she could just be a great teacher in the microcosm she created in her classroom. However, she soon became involved in association work, first helping re-establish her local association at Seaman. She quickly realized the need for educational leaders in the forefront working to make Kansas an even better place to teach and learn. Karen then led her local in various roles as chief negotiator, president and UniServ representative. Her first state level work was as an Instructional Advocacy Commissioner. Since then, she has served in several capacities including becoming KNEA Secretary-Treasurer in 2006 and Vice President in 2009. She relishes being an advocate for great public schools for every child. Karen is fortunate that her husband, who is also an educator and long-time member, understands and appreciates the dedication she gives to KNEA. They live outside of Topeka in the country and find time to enjoy their mutual pastimes of outdoor sports, home improvement and antiquing. They also manage occasionally to slip back to Alaska to visit family in Anchorage and Juneau. Podcast of the interview Download:
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