Biography
Prior to joining The Alford Group Karen served as the Director of Development and Capital Campaign for the Seattle Symphony from 1996-2001, where she worked to facilitate the completion of the largest arts capital campaign in the state of Washington. Seattle Symphony opened Benaroya Hall -- the newest state-of-the-art concert facility in the world -- in September 1998. The Seattle Symphony Capital Campaign brought in over $159 Million, of which $138 Million was raised to build Benaroya Hall and over $21 Million was raised to increase the symphony's endowment fund.

Karen was also responsible for growing the Seattle Symphony's annual fundraising activities. The Symphony's annual budget grew from $11 million to $18.7 million in three years. The annual fundraising increased from $ 4.3 million in 1996-97 to $7.5 million in the 2000-2001 fiscal year.

Prior to moving back to her hometown of Seattle, Karen spent three years in New York as the Director of Corporate Relations and Sponsorships at Carnegie Hall. While there she raised $1.5 million annually from national and international Corporations. Prior to the beginning of the 1996-97 season, she had increased corporate sponsorships to $800,000, up from $265,000 the previous year. Most notably, Karen negotiated the largest sponsorship in Carnegie Hall's history - a $750,000 three-year sponsorship for the Hall's Recital Series.

With over twenty years' experience in nonprofit management, Karen has also worked as the Development Director at Seattle's Intiman Theatre where, among other things, she worked on both the capital campaign to renovate the Playhouse at the Seattle Center in the mid-1980's to the private/feasibility phase of the next campaign for expansion in 1993. She has also worked as Business Manager at Intiman Theatre and Company Manager at A Contemporary Theatre in Seattle.

Ms. Rotko-Wynn currently serves as President of the Washington State Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) and is a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE).