As vice president of insight, Karen Barnes serves as the voice of the consumer for Shelton Group.

As vice president of insight, Karen Barnes serves as the voice of the consumer for Shelton Group.

After growing up in North Carolina, Karen got her bachelor's degree in English literature from Hollins College in Roanoke, Va., and her master's degree in journalism and public affairs from American University in Washington D.C. To feed her passion for politics, she interned with ABC News correspondent Ann Compton at the White House in January 1990. Since then she's done it all: copywriting, account direction, strategic planning, producer for radio, video, TV and even quoted printing.

Karen is a veteran of several agencies including Mullen, Woodbine, and Wildfire, and has worked across numerous categories including healthcare, banking, food and beverage, telecom, home improvement and many others. Karen's experience gives her deep intuition and knowledge about the role of the consumer. She knows them inside and out -- what they love and hate, what they say they do versus what they actually do, what they believe in, what they fear, and ultimately what motivates them to action.

Karen has received several honors for her work, including the Effie Award for marketing effectiveness, The One Show, Print, Graphics and National Addy awards.