The National Endowment for the Humanities has appointed Karen Kenton as its new Director of the Office of State/Federal Partnership following a nationwide search. Kenton has held a leadership role in the NEH since 2011, when she became the senior program officer in the Division of Public Affairs.
The Office of State/Federal Partnership supports local humanities programs through collaboration with independent state and jurisdictional councils, creating campaigns to bolster literacy, cultural tourism, and historical publications, amongst other initiatives. Kenton’s prior work with the NEH helped her to establish relationships with many state councils already.
Kenton is an alumni of Glassboro State College (now Rowan University) and earned her Masters in Library Science from the University of Maryland. Before joining the NEH, she worked for a number of non-profit organizations and served as a freelance producer for Washington, DC’s public access television network WETA. She worked on a number television and film programs, several of which were awarded prestigious prizes in the industry, including the Emmy and the Erik Barnouw Prize.