Karen Whitaker is a Senor Consultant with the Search & Consulting Group for the Head of School and Academic Leadership Practices.

Before joining Carney, Sandoe & Associates, Karen Whitaker spent thirty years working in Bay Area public and independent schools, most recently as Assistant Head of School for Academic Affairs at The Branson School, a highly regarded independent secondary school in Ross, California. Over the course of her tenure at Branson, Karen held a progression of leadership roles—including Ninth Grade Dean, Director of Studies, and Academic Dean. As Assistant Head of School, she led the school’s transition to inquiry-based curricula, championed standards-based and formative assessment practices, and built collaborative professional growth models that elevated teaching across departments.

During her long career, Karen has developed expertise across a wide range of institutional priorities: hiring and faculty development, curriculum review, student support, accreditation, strategic planning, and governance. She continues to serve as an independent school trustee, bringing a board-level perspective to her understanding of school leadership and institutional health.

Since joining Carney Sandoe, Karen has worked on more than one hundred searches across the firm’s Head of School and Academic Leadership Practices. Her client list includes Lakeside School, The California Association of Independent Schools, Nueva, Thacher, John Thomas Dye, and Crossroads on the West Coast as well as Park Tudor, Charlotte Country Day School, Shady Side Academy, Norfolk Academy, Noble and Greenough and many others. She is drawn to the process of understanding a school’s values and aspirations—and then finding the leader who genuinely embodies them. She considers it a privilege to earn the trust of each client school she serves.

Beyond search, Karen has coached aspiring female leaders through the California Teacher Development Collaborative and leadership teams through head of school transitions.

Karen earned a B.A. from Stanford University, a California Teaching Credential through UC, Berkeley, and an M.A. in Private School Leadership through the Klingenstein Program, Columbia University.