Karen Garnett

Karen Garnett is Managing Director and Head of ESG Policy and Reporting at Charles Schwab. She leads ESG disclosure and stakeholder engagement across the enterprise and serves as a key adviser on ESG matters to business partners, executive management, and the board of directors. She also oversees the firm’s affirmative action compliance and the diversity and inclusion program.

Before joining Schwab in 2022, Karen was a partner in the Capital Markets group at Proskauer Rose LLP and co-head of the firm’s global ESG working group. Previously, Karen served for more than two decades in various leadership roles at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, specializing in public company disclosure regulation.

Karen is a member of the American Bar Association Federal Regulation of Securities Committee and past Chair of the Public Company Reporting and Compliance Subcommittee. She is a past member of the FASB’s Financial Accounting Standards Advisory Council and a past board member of the Institute for Portfolio Alternatives.
Karen earned a J.D. degree from the University of Texas at Austin and a B.A. degree in Government from Dartmouth College.