AZSNAP ProWomen's Luncheon

About the Speaker: Karen Wittmer is Vice President of Freedom Arizona, Inc. (FAZI).  She is CEO and Publisher of the state’s second largest newspaper, the East Valley Tribune.  FAZI includes two dailies, five weeklies, four shoppers, several niche businesses and the Arizona Interactive Media Group.

Karen has been the lead executive in Arizona since Tribune Newspapers and the Yuma Daily Sun were acquired from Cox Newspapers late in 1996.  Prior to that she was the CEO of the Thomson Newspapers Tri-State Strategic Marketing Group with papers in Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania.  She joined Thomson in February of 1995.

Karen’s career has included senior executive positions with Harte-Hanks, Gannett, Ingersol, and Knight Ridder.  She began her career working in retail advertising sales for the Detroit Free Press, and has spent most of her career in marketing and general management.  She graduated with a BA in Journalism from Wayne State University in Detroit and is known today as a strong financial leader with exceptional team building skills and a passion for First Amendment freedoms.

In addition to being a successful member of the business world, Karen is also very active in the community.  She’s an active board member of the Scottsdale Cultural Council and sits on the boards of the East Valley Partnership, Scottsdale Area Chamber, and is a Trustee of the Walter Cronkite Telecommunications & Journalism School at ASU.  She is also a member of the Greater Phoenix Leadership.

Karen is married, and lives in Scottsdale with her husband Lou Jekel.