Karen Carpenter is President and Chief Executive Officer of Vanderheyden, a child welfare organization serving over 500 individuals and families each day in educational, residential and community-based programs. Karen was recently named by Governor Hochul to serve on the New York State Children and Family Services Advisory Board and won the 2024 Albany Business Review “Women Who Mean Business” award.

Previous to Vanderheyden, Carpenter was the Commissioner of the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS), overseeing over 4,000 providers serving over 100,000 New York residents each day in prevention, treatment and recovery programs. Her leadership roles in nonprofit, health organizations and public service have included:

• President and CEO of the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers
• Vice President Regional operations for the American Cancer Society
• Executive Vice President for Government Programs of CDPHP
• Director of Children and Families of the New York State Office of Mental Health
• Assistant Secretary for Human Services for New York State Governor

Carpenter holds bachelor and master’s degrees in social work from the Rochester Institute of Technology and Adelphi University. She lives in Guilderland with her family and several rescued Old English Sheepdogs.