University of Minnesota Athletics
UMN Senior Advisor to the President Joins Leadership U for Speaker Series
11/28/2023 2:58:00 PM | Student-Athlete Development, Leadership U
Leadership U welcomed Karen Diver, the University of Minnesota's Senior Advisor to the President for Native American Affairs, on October 31st for the final Speaker Series of the fall semester. Karen shared her remarkable journey of public service and the invaluable leadership lessons she learned along the way with Gopher Athletics student-athletes, staff, and coaches.
At just 11 years old, Karen was already challenging power structures and advocating for equal treatment of her largely marginalized community. She shared that in these early years, she first learned that "public service isn't always defined by service" and that some people are in public service roles not for the public good but as an exercise of power. As a result, Karen still leads with the same tenacity as she had at 11 and has had a truly awe-inspiring journey.
Karen has brought her dedicated and reliable public service to countless people. In her start as Executive Director of the YWCA of Duluth, she saw the importance of genuinely equitable service and assistance. She illustrated this through her reframing of the common phrase to "pull yourself up by the bootstraps." Her work demonstrates that to be socially just, we need to ensure that everyone has the bootstraps. This concept continued to inform Karen's leadership as she was elected Chairwoman of her tribe, the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. Her success as Chairwoman led her to serve as an appointee of President Obama as the Special Assistant to the President for Native American Affairs until the end of the Administration.
She continues to look to provide bootstraps to those within the footprint of the University of Minnesota. To do so, Karen looks to foster a sense of belonging for the Native American community at the U of M. To her, this means that all students' needs are met, and everyone can see themselves in what is taught. By leading with empathy and fostering relationships, she has shifted conversations toward a direction of progress and social change.
Leadership U was honored to feature Karen Diver as we celebrate Native American Heritage Month in November. We look forward to hosting more Leadership U Speaker Series events in the spring!
Speaker Series - Dr. Amy Beacom
Thursday, May 11
Speaker Series - Laura Halldorson
Wednesday, April 05
Speaker Series - Kamal Mohamed
Tuesday, February 14
Speaker Series: Tony Sanneh
Thursday, December 01