Karen Hughes - President, CEO
Early Career
Prior to joining Vogel, Hughes was President & CEO at The Campagna Center Alexandria, VA, an organization operating high-quality programs that support child education. The Center’s services prepare children for school and ensure academic success at each grade level. Additional previous positions include Associate Executive Director/COO at the National Association for the Education of Young Children and Director of Child Care Services at Houston Community College.
Vogel
During her tenure at Vogel, Karen Hughes’ leadership has transformed the nonprofit into the comprehensive facility it is today. She guides the staff through challenges and identifies goals that best support the children and families of Vogel.
Internal process successes include implementation of a strategic plan to measure outcomes of goals and objectives and development of an electronic data collection system. Hughes revised “customer friendly” enrollment procedures and implemented an EOS operating system to track outcomes of strategic initiatives.
Growth and Expansion
In 2012, Karen led Vogel in establishing the location and remodel of our current facility, which doubled our service capacity. She also implemented a board diversity program, the expansion of the development team, and a fundraising model to diversify revenue streams.
Additionally, she oversaw creation of the Vogel Foundation and governing board to oversee and expand the organization’s investments.
Initiated and overseen by Karen, some of our core fundraising events now exist. Events such as Day 1 DFW, a children and family fair held on New Year’s Day, as well as the Blue Bird Bash in the fall.
Program Leadership
Many new programs were started under Karen’s leadership too! These consist of a health clinic onsite, a mental health program, the Parent Opportunity Center, Camp Vogel for children age K-8th grade, and Dallas’ first sensory lab for homeless preschool children.
In 2020, she championed Vogel through the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. This sparked the development of Vogel Eats, a food-delivery program for Vogel families during lockdown. Her firm commitment kept a promise that not one family would slip back into homelessness during that time.
Community Leadership
In Dallas, Karen has been active with MDHA (Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance) for several years. She has served as a board member, on the Executive committee, the chair of the PRAC committee, and the chair of the Children and Families committee. She also acted as chair of the CEO selection team, MDHA board chair, and chair of the COC restructuring work group. She is still a member of the board and is also a member of the COC Selection committee and the Homeless Collaborative Board, as well as on the COC Assembly Executive Council.
Looking Forward
Karen is currently spearheading efforts to expand Vogel’s impact through new programming, collaboration with community partners, and the expansion of Vogel to a second location in 2023.
We are so proud and blessed to have Karen Hughes leading our fight to end family homelessness! Check back for more Senior Staff Spotlights.
