Karen Casanovas

Karen Casanovas's picture

A health, wellness and simplified living coach. Karen's expertise lies in creating unique plans for living or working in a functional, healthy, beautiful and safe environment of wellness. She coaches, designs and leads programs that enhance spaces and personal mindset toward greater resiliency. Karen's guidance helps others quell anxiety, achieve leadership success, improve team dynamics, overcome obstacles, increase corporate connectivity, reduce conflicts, create transitional change, hold space for transparency, meet goals and optimize organizational performance. Her coaching has increased agility for diverse and challenging situations.

A seasoned professional, Karen has worked with Alaska Native Corporations, oil and gas entities, federal, state and local government agencies for more than 30 years. She has facilitated courses for clinics/behavioral health providers, law firms, engineering, oil support services, senior centers, natural resource management agencies, tourism, trade associations, nonprofits and others. Experience as a faculty member, business executive, government lobbyist, and television/film producer in a myriad of cultural settings in her multi-faceted career, Karen creates engagement building long-term partnerships and referrals from clients. As a credentialed coach, her non cookie-cutter approach leverages somatic and systems intelligence for body/mind awareness, impact and resilience, evoking sustainable transformation.

Casanovas spearheaded Alaska Airlines’ training programs for market expansion to rural communities and routinely guides innovators, futurists, creators, entrepreneurs, disrupters and makers in enterprise architecture. Her work in team-building, communication, accountability, leadership, motivation, resiliency, capacity development, and customer relations provides hands-on effective coaching and mentoring while aligning core competencies, values and goals. Her ability to get to the heart of the matter, offer strategies and tools with realistic solutions, resulting in turnarounds and immediate effective outcomes.

Karen is a Fellow at the Institute of Coaching, McLean Hospital, Harvard University affiliate; holds credentialing as a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (CPCC) and a Professional Certified Coach (PCC); graduated from Alaska Pacific University; and attended Pacific Lutheran University's School of Business. Additionally, she has training in Organizational and Relationship Systems Coaching (ORSC) and by the Living in Place Institute, and holds professional graduate certificates in Wellness Program Design from WELCOA and Nonprofit Management from University of Alaska. Her leadership skills were demonstrated through participation on many nonprofit boards including the Travel and Tourism Advisory Board for Alaska Pacific University, and the Aviation Advisory Board for the University of Alaska, Anchorage. She is trained in working with older adults using practical, multidisciplinary knowledge and tools. Karen was also selected to serve on the Senior Citizens Advisory Commission enhancing and supporting the quality of life for older adults. 

A former member of the Circumpolar Infrastructure Task Force as part of the Northern Forum and the Arctic Council, Karen was also part of the Alaska Interagency Coordination Center team during the 9/11 crisis. She is trained in safety and emergency preparedness, and was a presenter at the Governor's Safety and Health Conference. Casanovas was an Anchorage Federal Executive Association Civilian Leadership award nominee, and was a Robert J. Collier award recipient presented by the National Aeronautic Association. She was also honored with the Visionary Award from the Federal Aviation Administration, and guides organizations in initiative and policymaking. 

Ms. Casanovas has worked on films with Nicolas Cage, John Cusack, Drew Barrymore, Kristen Bell, Ted Danson, John Krasinski, Vanessa Hudgens, Dean Norris, Teri Polo, Dermot Mulroney, Brett Baker and Jon Voight, on television commercials and PSAs. A life-long student of Alaska Native culture, she's lived in Nome, Fairbanks, Kodiak, and has traveled to nearly every corner of Alaska collecting artifacts from the beach and photographing historic landmarks.

Karen's articles and opinions on neuroscience, aging, human resources, aviation, and the television industry have been published in numerous media outlets including LinkedIn, Alaska Dispatch News, The Peninsula Clarion, The Fairbanks Daily News Miner, The Juneau Empire, Alaska Magazine, The Alaska Journal of Commerce, The Anchorage Daily News, The Washington Monthly, The Arctic Council, The Northern Forum, The Senior Voice, United States Army Alaska's Stationing & Training of Increased Aviation Assets, Center for Disease Control (NIOSH) Survey and Analysis of Aviation Safety, Aero News, Reel Alaska and other national, federal and state outlet sources.

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