Karen Schoepke

Director of First Impressions

A Wisconsin native, Karen visited family in Albuquerque on yearly basis.  With her UW-Madison degree in hand, she headed to Albuquerque and began her career with Albuquerque Public Schools in 1988, after student teaching in Sydney, Australia.  She recently retired from APS after a career as a classroom and physical education teacher.  Wanting to try her hand at something new, she decided to try working in the business world and looks forward to her new position as Director of First Impressions for Albuquerque Community Foundation!

In her free time, Karen enjoys step class and pickle ball.  She is a board member for a local non-profit organization.  Karen is the proud mother of two children.  Her daughter is a Registered Nurse in a Burn Unit and her son will be transferring to UNM in fall and playing on the baseball team.  

• Red or green?  Green
• Mountain or River? Mountain
• Comedy Club or Dance Club?  Dance Club
• Hometown: West Bend, WI
• High School Mascot: Suns  (West Bend East Suns)
• If you could have lunch with anyone alive or dead, who would it be? All four of my grandparents
• If you didn’t work for the Foundation, where would you work? A cardio drum instructor for Drums Alive
• Name three songs you would include on your soundtrack of life: "Beer Barrel Polka” performed by Wisconsin Marching Band (double whammy—my heritage and my alma mater), “Well Done” by The Afters and “One Day Like This” by Elbow
• What’s your favorite time of the year in New Mexico? Fall
• What is a skill you’d like to learn? Woodworking and/or Bread Baking  (I’m waiting for Continuing Ed to offer a Beginning Woodworking course.)
• If you could witness any event of the past, present or future, what would it be? World’s Fair in Chicago 1933/1934
• Where’s Waldo?  About three miles east of Cascade, WI