The proof is in the impact
Karen has worked with over 150 organizations across 70 countries. Here is what executives, educators, changemakers, and community leaders have to say about working with her.
Showing 74 testimonials
This training was the most impactful training I have ever attended. The content and delivery by the amazing Karen Craggs was unlike any training I have ever had. Karen's years of hard work in inclusivity shine through in her stories, lessons, and care in ensuring the room had a clear understanding of the work that needs to be done.
Karen is an absolutely captivating speaker. She engages people in difficult and comfortable conversations and simultaneously makes them feel safe and open. I highly recommend Karen to anyone who is looking to expand their conversation about diversity, equity and inclusion.
Listening to Karen discuss allyship was eye-opening and inspiring. Karen's clarity, empathy, and actionable strategies left a lasting impression on me and everyone in the organization who attended the session. Karen is a passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion.
Karen welcomed dialogue in advance of the workshop to ensure it would meet the needs of the organization, and was an absolute pleasure to work with. All comments received from participants confirmed that her presentation and approach were exceptional. Her delivery was very effective and the take-aways will have a lasting impact.
Karen expertly highlighted the importance of this work in relation to our college's mandate and commitments. She provided clear, accessible definitions of colonization, decolonization, and Indigenization, and offered practical guidance on how to integrate these principles into instruction and assessment.
Karen did an amazing job with her DEI presentation and she got us all involved in discussions. Her passion and expertise shone through and I was thoroughly impressed.
What I love about Karen's work is that she is sensitive to a multitude of considerations when it comes to DEI and cultural competency. She is a voice of empowerment that upholds ethical and moral standards that help us to create a more respectful society. You are a priceless asset to any leadership team!
Karen's training was enormously helpful to me as a person and as a professional. I saw the many ways her framework can be applied to different business types, and it helped me brainstorm new ideas I wouldn't have come up with on my own. I feel more confident to engage on these issues with people in my personal and professional life.
Karen is a powerful, positive and creative energy. She is able to link deep levels of theory and models of practice with the everyday challenges that groups and organizations face in the equality space. Karen is truly an amazing resource that brings meaningful thoughts, plans, actions and ultimate delivery to fruition.
When I think DEIB done well, I think of Karen. She consistently exceeds expectations, delivering highly valuable sessions on DEIB, Decolonization and Indigenization. Karen masterfully covers a wealth of content in highly engaging yet digestible ways, using vivid real life stories that resonate with our diverse staff and students.
Karen came highly recommended as a strong subject matter expert with a great personality and a flexible, customized approach. Her session helped youth understand gender equality in a tangible way, why this issue is important and how they as youth can do something about it in their homes, schools and communities.
Karen exceeded our expectations because she didn't just deliver the run-of-the-mill training. She brought our corporate values to life in a way that made them meaningful to everyone in the room and ultimately, impacted the organizational culture. Leadership and staff loved Karen's energy, her story telling approach, her real life examples, and her contagious passion for equality.
It is rare to find a person who can blend theory and practicality so seamlessly together. Karen did just that and more. She was able to perfectly balance positivity and moments of levity with incredibly important and sometimes deeply uncomfortable concepts. It was truly amazing to learn from Karen.
Karen is a one-of-a-kind powerhouse who leaves you energized, motivated and able to tackle hard issues. In an often divisive world, Karen dissolves artificial boundaries and quickly develops rapport — creating a safe space for real conversations about what matters. Anyone seeking to deliver on equality — do it RIGHT — should be working with Karen.
Karen is a dynamic pioneer in the field of Gender Equality and Inclusion. The length and breadth of her experience in the field of gender equality within different countries, contexts, languages and systems is truly exceptional. She does not shy away from complex projects or fragile situations — these situations rather energize her.
In a space where many speak about diversity and inclusion, Karen stands apart because she does not simply inform, she transforms. Her keynote was, without exaggeration, one of the most powerful talks I have witnessed. Our students left with clarity, language, and tools — not just inspiration. They left with a deeper understanding of identity, power, belonging, and how to navigate leadership spaces without shrinking themselves.
Karen's keynote on Conscious Leadership Principles at our WEL Summit was a masterclass in clarity, courage, and care. She doesn't just speak about inclusion and equity; she lives it, and it shows in every word, example, and interaction. Her talk sparked important conversations that have continued long after the summit, and I've already seen people referencing her ideas in their own leadership practice.
I am confident to say it was one of the most inspiring and important learning opportunities I have had throughout my career. Karen introduced her Conscious Equality Framework, which involves understanding how to navigate and address the unique challenges faced by organizations working to end gender inequalities across the world. I am grateful and excited to introduce her framework in my professional development.
Karen is one of those rare people that speaks and you know you will never forget what she said. The information Karen presented resonated so much with the audience that many asked when we will have Karen back for a longer workshop. If you want to hire a speaker who knows her stuff and can deliver it in an engaging and meaningful way, I highly recommend Karen Craggs-Milne.
It is clear that gender equality is not just a day job for Karen, but rather, a lifelong mission driven by her personal experiences. She challenged our audience and provided thought-provoking analyses. Karen is the real deal, and I cannot stress how valuable her insight is for any organization looking to make an impact on gender equality.
Karen is a dynamic, warm, and engaging presenter on important topics in the DEI and ESG space. She effortlessly connects with her audience and encourages participation and interaction for a collaborative and engaging learning experience for all. I always learn something new from her sessions which helps me become a stronger person and leader to make our world a better place.
We hired Karen to speak at our leadership event, and she was brilliant. She engaged with the audience quickly and effortlessly, holding their attention for the duration of her time on stage. She is an expert in her field and comes with authority, power, authenticity, and vulnerability — sharing stories and teaching lessons that can only be spoken by someone that truly lived it.
Karen worked closely with our HR team to develop custom enterprise-wide workplace harassment training that reflected our unique reality. Over a series of sessions, Karen delivered the training to over 250 staff including Senior Management. Staff left with new information, concrete skills for dealing with difficult situations, and a unique perspective on how to minimize cases of harassment.
I would nominate Karen to be amongst the top 10 people in the world that are advancing gender equality. Under her guidance, gender equality is just practical. I reinforced my skills on how to develop a gender strategy aligned with project results, develop annual action plans, embed GE into baselines, and conduct gender audits. The list is endless. It is known that Karen is an expert but she is also a great people leader, always ready to share her knowledge with others.
Karen is an exceptional colleague and professional — a true expert in Gender Equality. She is quick to understand the dynamics of different organizations, ensuring the work she does is contextual and relevant. She brings a high degree of tact, diplomacy and cross-cultural sensitivity. She has a rare ability to synthesize and analyze vast amounts of information and deliver the findings in a succinct Gender Audit Report with strong, clear recommendations for action.
Karen was able to draw on her framework of Conscious Equality to mediate the conversations, ensure the many perspectives in the room were heard and seen, and ultimately achieve the intended outcomes. I would highly recommend Karen to anyone looking for a charismatic, intuitive, and empathetic facilitator.
Karen's no-holds-barred keynote was refreshing and necessary as we seek to understand the challenges and opportunities we all face around Diversity & Inclusion. She isn't afraid to go there. Only open and honest dialogues will get us thinking about the real issues we face, and Karen's expertly led discussion went there. Her passion for and command of the issues sets her apart in the field.
In her first 6 months, Karen developed a comprehensive diversity, equity, inclusion and anti-racism vision, strategy and execution plan. She has an unwavering commitment to help organizations transform and can masterfully hold space for difficult conversations. She embodies a rare blend of business strategy and heart-centred leadership that will guarantee her success as an outstanding DEI Executive in any organization.
I thoroughly enjoyed getting to meet and work with Karen. I found Karen to be a passionate and driven professional, with deep knowledge and understanding of the diversity and inclusion space, who sets a very high bar for success. I would gladly consider working with Karen again in the future.
Karen delivered thoughtful expertise, great stories and strong depth of experience and knowledge. I enjoyed how she shared her perspective in a thoughtful, relatable manner and the audience appreciated her insights on equity issues. As an advocate for diversity, equality and social justice myself, I would welcome the chance to work with Karen again.
Our audience was blown away by Karen's energetic and engaging life story telling. Above all, I was impressed with Karen's ability to not only educate our audience but also captivate the room. Karen was an amazing asset to our International Women's Day panel and we feel so privileged to have had the opportunity to hear her speak.
Everything Karen spoke about — from equity, to intent vs impact, to intersectionality, to Africa — all resonated with me and gracefully educated others in the room on the need for diversity and equity training within our company space. As a young woman of colour in corporate Canada, that day I felt empowered because, through Karen, I could actually see myself represented on stage.
Karen not only engaged the audience with her conversation on diversity but made us think differently on how we could impact others both personally and in the workplace. Would strongly recommend your organization to invite Karen to start an informal conversation about workplace inclusiveness.
After one of Karen's sessions I was left with so much insight on how to become a better ally — not just by verbally disagreeing with intolerant people, but to connect with difficult people to actually build a platform for change instead of adding to the already existing divide and isolation.
Karen encouraged our Fellows to break down their biases, embrace a progressive and inclusive feminist approach, and have difficult conversations about the injustice of our world. One Fellow said he'd had a total moment of clarity — that you will never succeed if you approach this work from a place of hate or anger. Divisiveness is not the route to systems change.
Karen's strategic and systems approach was evident in how she works with clients using intersectionality as a methodology across all aspects of the business. Because of her deep experience, systems perspective and strategic insight, any company considering the future of their diversity and inclusion strategies would be lucky to work with Karen.
Karen masterfully delivered her remarks, sewing together the past, the present and the future through personal anecdotes of her travels and work across the continent. She has leveraged her privilege, her education, her skills and her passion to give back with substantial results. Anyone working on policy or programming for Africans would benefit from her perspective and technical advice.
Karen's Gender Training was exactly what I was looking for — it covered key concepts, shared relevant material on today's donor climate, and provided practical guidance on best practices and tools. She has a wealth of knowledge to draw on as she has worked across all levels and continents, from Executives to INGO staff globally. I would highly recommend Karen.
Karen launched the AIMS Women In STEM Initiative at the Next Einstein Forum, hosted by His Excellency President Macky Sall of Senegal. She also started a campaign calling on more than 10,000 men to stand up and support Women in STEM in Africa, and created a platform for young men to share their views — the first of its kind on the continent. She is a team player, a listener, and a strong proponent for promoting gender parity in STEM.
From the moment Karen joined ThoughtExchange she provided expert advice ensuring we all understood the principles of Anti-Racism and DEI. Her focus on implementing a sustainable diversity strategy has ignited interest and excitement unlike any I've seen. Karen implemented ADEI Metrics, tackled diversity in hiring, and supported our sales team with go-to-market strategies. The impact of her work can be felt across the organization.
Karen's unwavering dedication to her work in Anti-Racism, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is evident in every single thing she does. I have learned so much from her during our time working together at ThoughtExchange — lessons I will carry with me forever. Everyone who gets the chance to work with her is lucky and will walk away with an abundance of knowledge, as well as a new understanding of deep generosity, kindness, and extraordinary respect.
Karen was an amazing speaker who framed a difficult conversation into an interactive, impactful, and inclusive discussion. Would highly recommend for anyone who wants to open an honest dialogue and needs tangible steps to do so.
Karen Craggs-Milne gave a very insightful talk on supporting women in manufacturing. I hope to be a stronger ally to my female colleagues as a result.
Karen has seen things, and knows things. If your organization has ever been touched by harassment, power politics or other divisive issues, Karen can help you. She is a compelling, provocative and effective speaker and thought partner who creates real and impactful leverage by making the people around her better at their own missions by sharing her insights in thoughtful and innovative ways.
Karen Craggs-Milne's keynote session on "unpacking equality issues in the workplace" had a massive impact at our ThoughtExchange event — funny, engaging and thought-provoking. Strongly recommend.
I was impressed by Karen's passion and knowledge. She shared real-life examples of dealing with company leaders and teaching them what they truly needed to learn about D&I — not just what they thought they needed. Wrapping the session with a real-time feedback tool was a great way to see the audience's takeaways. Anyone can benefit from Karen's training.
Karen is a passionate, knowledgeable and compelling speaker and a strong catalyst for change when it comes to D&I. Her real life stories give rich texture and deep context to the subject matter and make for a unique and highly engaging learning experience.
Finding curriculum development support for community programs is hard, but Karen knew exactly how to deliver and share her knowledge of GBA+ and D&I for our national community-based program. With so much flexibility and empathy, she adjusted her presentations to ensure everyone in the room could share their interests and curiosities.
We have been working with Karen for over a year on various projects and it has brought valuable change and focus to the organization. Karen's fun sessions keep us on track, hit our objectives and ask really important questions. It has been a pleasure working with Karen!
I had the opportunity to attend a session led by Karen at a conference. She used stories to connect each topic to the real world, to international development and gender roles. The way she talked about gender is important and it was the first time someone had explained it that way to me.
Karen inspired a room full of faculty, staff and students to get on board with applying a stronger gender equality and inclusion lens in their work. She is articulate, energizing and grounded in reality. She has proven herself to be a trustworthy, visionary and enterprising leader who is dynamic and innovative.
Karen's technique of using storytelling during workshops is a very effective way of passing on knowledge and getting the audience engaged. Through stories, she helped the audience explicitly understand how to reach those who may not be aware of their own gender and racial biases. After the session, I feel more prepared to discuss inequity within my university and professional communities.
Karen understood exactly what our organization needed to move forward on our gender equality work, and deftly adapted her presentation to our specific needs. The management and staff absolutely loved her and the training she offered us, because her style and content resonated with those who are new to gender equality work, as well as those who already have experience working on gender.
I participated in Karen's gender workshop and walked away with a deeper understanding of transformational program design and several practical tools of how to get you there. It really helps learning from a professional who continues to apply and test the theories and tools within their own work. Karen was funny and real — I thoroughly enjoyed the entire workshop.
Karen expertly presented a concise and easy to understand transformative framework for development practitioners and policy makers alike. Her call for development projects to invest from the beginning in a robust gender-based analysis was profound and powerful. Her approach and ideas on gender equality are refreshing, empowering and game changing.
Karen's Gender 101 training was unlike any other workplace training I've ever experienced. She not only covers the theories and concepts, she brings it to life in such a deeply personal, moving and yet no-nonsense kind of way that makes thinking and doing work through a gender lens totally doable and completely necessary.
Karen presented an engaging and educational session that deepened our understanding of how to bring a gender lens to our work. She gave our team tangible tools to use as we implement our gender roadmap. Through a mix of academic theory, practical models, and personal examples, Karen was able to cover a significant amount of content in an interactive and accessible way.
Karen was part of a career panel on Gender and Global Development. She was full of insider insight and engaged easily with the crowd. She was flanked by three other women also involved in development, but she was by far the most experienced. The audience of Master of Global Affairs students described Karen as 'relatable', 'grounded' and 'badass'.
Karen expertly weaves together theory and real-life experience to provide clear and tangible examples of how to apply gender analysis and mainstreaming in practice. Karen's powerful narrative links gender equality and development with a broader historical arc, making the topic inspiring and exciting even for those who might not usually engage with conversations on the topic.
Karen led an engaging discussion at the OCIC Evaluation in Practice Summit exploring gender equity and equality when planning for program and project evaluations. Participants enjoyed the frank nature of the discussion and appreciated the suggestions for how to incorporate gender-focused indicators into their programming and evaluations.
Karen is incredibly inspiring with her innovative discourse regarding gender equality and her approachable demeanor. Her real life accounts depict a visceral understanding of the root issues contributing to inequality for both genders, which she eloquently shared through humour. Karen, you have rejuvenated a passion in me to keep fighting for the world that I want to live in.
It is rare to find an external expert who brings exceptional breadth and depth while also seamlessly immersing themselves and their contributions to your specific context and language. Karen was a perfect blend of both, making her an incredible asset to our Innovation Day at CARE Canada. She stayed the entire day, engaging in the activities and listening to everyone's ideas.
The way in which Karen was able to frame how unequal power and gender dynamics play out in our work and link these to powerful real life examples resonated with me. Karen brought a keen gender and power analysis to the content of the day as both a speaker and innovation expert. She walks the talk in her commitment to equality.
Karen is one of those people that makes you grateful you showed up. Her energy, stories and wisdom had a profound impact on me. One could clearly see the passion in her bones as she speaks about the causes that are most important to her. Her warmth and energy does not stop on stage — she is a very approachable and down-to-earth person.
I really appreciated Karen's awareness of common oversights on the job as it pertains to inclusive spaces. I particularly liked the point she made about recognizing the importance of a diversity specialist on the team and allowing their input to hold more weight when it comes to decisions that will ultimately affect the people in that workplace.
Coming from an NGO background and hearing Karen talking about women issues, her experience in international development truly inspired me. If I had to choose one insight, it is when Karen discussed her concern about labelling others — categorization and labelling does not really help; in reality they lead to further stereotyping.
Karen supported each of her statements with an example, a story which resonated with everyone in the room. While Diversity & Inclusion seemed like a far-fetched idea for an organization, she pointed out how with the smallest of changes in the system we can create an inclusive environment for everyone at the workplace.
Karen created a safe space for our group to discuss sensitive topics and realistic scenarios to deconstruct and address together. These scenarios equipped us with best practices and tools to effectively and professionally deal with such situations, no matter what our role. As a facilitator, Karen was very sensitive to the needs of the group given the subject matter, checking in with us and giving us a break when needed.
Karen's session was so insightful, as she used case studies, which was a very powerful mode of telling stories. The session was very motivational and I strongly recommend the case study approach, as it is a practical way of relating to situations which any development professional can encounter during their career.
Karen has a unique ability to challenge and inspire as a facilitator — enabling participants to gain clarity on gender and development issues, while inspiring us to define solutions to overcome inequality. She provided us with clear and concise gender analysis tools and frameworks to apply directly to our work. Karen also has a wonderful sense of humour and passion for gender training.
Having had the opportunity to hear Karen speak during a class in Humber College's International Development program, I was exposed to development and gender in a new light that ignited my passion for gender equality and the development of women. Karen's passion and her personal experiences that led her to become an influential figure in this sector have remained vivid in my mind.
The training was very well organized, informative and captivating. Karen made full use of the workspace, facilitating interactive activities to effectively teach the curriculum. The practical skillset and concepts I learned and practised have proven invaluable. Not only have I been able to transfer skills to local gender experts, but also implement gender responsive measures in the policies, programs and projects of Governments and NGOs.
Karen is an excellent trainer and facilitator who draws on her many years of experience in gender programming to lead participants through exercises that encourage critical thinking and the development of skills to apply new concepts in one's own professional context. I highly recommend her services.
Karen is truly an inspirational speaker by her own measure. As a Master of Global Affairs student at the Munk School, I had the privilege of listening to Karen speak about her experience in International Development. What is so important about Karen's work is that she pushes the idea of a gendered lens in all work within the field. In a short two hours, Karen inspired me, motivated me, and taught me invaluable information based on experience. If you have a chance to attend one of her workshops, you will not be disappointed.
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