About Cara Long

Cara Long is the Deputy Director at CWGCS. She works on several program areas at the Center including; Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and Women’s Leadership. Ms. Long is responsible for planning and creating the Center’s outreach and marketing plans and materials, as well as planning and implementing the outreach component of all center programs. She holds a M.A. in Media Production from Emerson College.

Karen Bilowith is the President and CEO of the Community Foundation for the Greater Capital Region. Before joining CFGCR in 2008, she served as President of United Way of the Greater Capital Region after the merger of the United Ways of Schenectady County and Northeastern New York in July 2007. Prior to the consolidation, Karen served as President and CEO of UWSC for six years. She came to the Capital Region from Washington, D.C., where she was senior program officer for the National AIDS Fund. She has broad experience in community-building and fundraising for nonprofit organizations throughout the country, including the American Red Cross and the Denver Zoological Foundation. 

Talk Description

Our talk will draw from the strategic plan developed by the Capital Region Economic Development Council (CREDC), specifically the expressed goals of opening new doors and preparing for tomorrow. CWGCS will discuss the progress and impact women have made and could make in the area of economic development using the following indicators: education, employment & leadership. CFGCR will discuss the impact that regional philanthropic efforts, of, by and for women, have had on economic development efforts that benefit the community as a whole. Together, we will focus on the future of our region and the role that women can and must play in creating vital, robust and healthy communities where economic opportunity is more broadly accessed.