Karen Risa Robbins was the founder and CEO for twenty years of aconsulting/services firm serving government, industry, and academicclients.  With her legal background, she led a team that brokered andadministered high value R&D partnerships, complex change initiatives, andcollaborative programs.  She was the policy and legal architect of anunprecedented contracting model that promotes public-private sectorcollaboration.  

Karen negotiated andadministered aeronautics and space-related deals worth hundreds of millions ofdollars between NASA and private companies. She was the Process Facilitator forthe $11 billion federal program to modernize the air transportation system, whereshe played a key role in establishing governance and stakeholder relations. She structured and co-authored the agreement for FAA that established theNextGen Institute.  She was the initiatorof the UAV National Industry Team, and was instrumental in winning NASA, DODand FAA support for the $100 million dollar program to establish regulations fordrone integration in the national airspace.  She was a Senior Advisor tothe U.S. State Department on forming an international coalition of disastermanagers, the Global Disaster Information Network.

For over a decade she wasthe business manager for Dr. Doug Engelbart, winner of the 2000 TechnologyMedal of Honor and inventor of the computer mouse, hyper-text, and otherseminal computing achievements.  

Ms. Robbins serves as a senior consultanton collaboration, stakeholder engagement, and organizational structures, withan emphasis on partnership and social enterprise.