Karen Warner shares about her background:
I am a mom, a grandmother, a widow who has been blessed to remarry. I am an author, of a book called The Sudden Caregiver. Finally, I am a Hudson-certified executive coach with a Master’s degree in Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. I do three things professionally: one-on-one coaching, team coaching, and classroom leadership development. Each of these things feeds the pipeline of the others.
I have been at the helm of a thriving coaching practice that shows no signs of slowing down. Therefore, I feel the need to give back— in a tangible way.
Though I have had a long corporate career in marketing, I really do nothing to market my coaching practice except to continue learning, be mindful when people need my help, and be the best coach I know how to be. Since completing the Hudson program in 2002 and launching my coaching firm, Tangible Group, I have been at the helm of a thriving coaching practice that shows no signs of slowing down.
Therefore, I feel the need to give back – in a tangible way.
Karen Warner shares about how her personal growth has been shaped by Hudson, and about the opportunities that have been unlocked for her since her graduation from Hudson:
The Calling
On the day I decided to become a coach, I was a VP of Marketing for a Venture Capital firm headquartered in Boston. On September 11, 2001, I was out of the country in Cannes, France, hosting an investor event for 150 people when someone flew planes into the World Trade Center. The air space over the US was immediately closed and worldwide cellular service was so overwhelmed that my frantic calls home went nowhere. My daughter had just started her senior year in high school, and all I knew about my husband’s whereabouts was that he had gone that day to New York City. It was late at night European time when I finally heard from him. After making sure he and my daughter were safe, I told him, “If this is the end of the world, this is not the job I want to be doing. I’m going to quit and become an executive coach.”
Two months later I was flying into Santa Barbara for LifeForward. In Hudson terms, I could not do one more 'mini-transition' in my career. It was a leap into the void. I've never looked back.
Two months later, I was flying into Santa Barbara for LifeForward. In Hudson terms, I could not do one more “mini-transition” in my career. It was a leap into the void. I’ve never looked back.
Coaching has been my own Hero’s Journey. Here are three insights. They were true from the start, and two decades later, I can look back and see that they have been constants.
Community
From day one in my Hudson journey, what struck me most was that for the first time in my decades-long professional career, I felt like I belonged in this community. I was at last among “my people.” Gone were the voices in my head telling me I didn’t fit, wasn’t enough, could have done more. Knowing I belong to the Hudson community is foundational for my work, and my life.
Purpose
In LifeForward, we were given a blank piece of foam core and stacks of magazines and tasked with creating a collage – a vision board that reflected our aspirations for coaching. (I still have mine. See photo.) Coming off a corporate career as a single working mom that had been as punishing as it was rewarding, my aspiration was not just “work-life balance,” but work-life integration. My hope was that if my work was aligned with my values and my purpose, it would not be punishing. Much to my astonishment, not only is my work not “punishing,” it’s joyful, and every day brings a sense of meaning and accomplishment.

The Universe
The day I was introduced to The Cycle of Renewal, a light turned on that has never turned off. I don’t know if someone said this to me then, or if I made it up, but it’s the way I think of any life journey around the Cycle. When you are living on purpose, it’s like the universe lays out breadcrumbs (or Reese’s Pieces, if you’re an ET fan) for you to follow. The reverse of this is also true. When you’re struggling to make something work and things just aren’t falling into place, consider that the universe is teaching you something. Stop struggling. Lay it down. Ask questions. What can I learn from this? What is this struggle teaching me?
I have, indeed, found the person that I was meant to be and the work that I was meant to do. I am endlessly grateful and owe it to Hudson to give back.
I was in my late forties when I graduated from Hudson. I’m now in my late sixties and am so fortunate to have the chance to look back at what was, at the time, a risky decision to lean into uncertainty and follow my dream and my gut. I am afforded the chance to see how that decision turned out and to realize that I have, indeed, found the person that I was meant to be and the work that I was meant to do. I am endlessly grateful and owe it to Hudson to give back.
Karen Warner shares about the drive behind her donation to the Frederic Hudson Scholarship Program:
This answer is the simplest and has been explained by my answers to the rest: I have a responsibility to give back. When I returned from my first HCC in 2002 and announced I was going to make a living as a coach instead of a VP of Marketing, my daughter, then 17 years old, asked an astute question: “Mom, how many clients do you need to coach in order to make what you made at your old job?” Hmm. After a quick mental calculation, I realized: too many.
I have been fortunate to encounter angels and mentors and guides on my journey who have shown me the way. I am aware of the privilege that affords me, and the responsibility to hold up a lantern on the path for someone else to find Hudson and thus make the world a better place.
Thus, I had to rethink the coaching business model, and I have been fortunate to encounter angels and mentors and guides on my journey who have shown me the way. I am aware of the privilege that affords me, and the responsibility to hold up a lantern on the path for someone else to find Hudson and thus make the world a better place.