Karen Horting, CAE, is Executive Director & CEO for the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), a 41,000 member organization founded in 1950. SWE is the driving force that establishes engineering as a highly desirable career aspiration for women.

With more than 30 years of experience in sales, marketing, and fund development, Ms.Horting came to SWE in March 2004 from the New York Academy of Sciences where she served as Director of Strategic Planning, overseeing the Academy’s development activities and long-range organizational planning. Prior to NYAS, Ms. Horting worked at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) managing both marketing and fund development on a global level for Science’s Next Wave, a ground-breaking career development website for graduate students and postdocs in STEM. Her previous experience also includes more than ten years in the paint industry.

Prior to her appointment as Executive Director & CEO, she served as SWE’s Director of Fund Development from March 2004 through July 2006 and Deputy Executive Director from August 2006 through December 2013.

Ms. Horting has a BS in Biology from Northern Illinois University. And she earned her MBA from Johns Hopkins University. In May 2008, Ms. Horting earned her Certified Association Executive (CAE) credential from the CAE Commission of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE).

She currently serves on the FIRST Robotics Board of Directors, the STEM Ed Coalition Board of Directors, the Leadership Circle of the 50K Coalition and the Johns Hopkins Carey School of Business Dean’s Alumni Advisory Board (DAAB). In 2019 she received the Association Forum’s Inspiring Leader award