Karen Blondel
Executive Director, Public Housing Civic Association
Karen Dawn Blondel is a trusted and respected local community leader and long-time resident of public housing in Red Hook, Brooklyn. She has been widely recognized and honored at the community, city and state federal levels for her grassroots community organizing efforts and unwavering commitment to social justice issues, including housing equity, climate change, Hurricane Sandy recovery, environmental health, and COVID-19 preparedness. Karen is a Havard Graduate School of Design Loeb Fellow 2022.The Human Impacts Institute and NYC Department of Transportation declared her an NYC Climate Hero. When NY State went on PAUSE, she partnered with the Red Hook Container Terminal and spearheaded the weekly distribution of fresh produce to Red Hook and Gowanus residents. Karen has trained as a Computer Aided Designer and Drafter, worked as a Construction Inspector and Civil Engineer Assistant and is certified in Biomedical and Behavioral Research with Human Participants. She has worked on the impacts of the Gowanus Canal remediation on NYCHA residents, as a community liaison for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, and as a certified US Census Field Representative and Data Collector. In 2020, she founded the Public Housing Civic Association, a local community-based non-profit organization that gives voice to public housing residents as they address issues related to the built environment.
Karen is a Community Liaison for NASEM National Association for Science Engineering and Medicine raising awareness around PFAS contamination.
Karen is one of 5 2023 David Prize winners. This prize is awarded to ordinary New Yorkers who have ideas and visions that will benefit New Yorkers.