Karen Kessler

Career

Karen Kessler is the founder (in 1993) and CEO of Kessler PR Group (formerly Evergreen Partners). She regularly counsels clients and their attorneys on sensitive issues including regulatory inquiries, personnel matters, business practices, and criminal and civil litigation. She represents high-profile celebrities and entities in the U.S., Europe, and the Middle East.

Karen is an appointed member of the New Jersey Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct – and in 2023 was appointed a Commissioner of New Jersey Motion Picture and Television Commission. She also serves on Boards of Directors of public companies and leading not-for-profits in health care, education, and finance. Currently, Karen chairs the Compliance and IT Committee of Northfield Bancorp, Inc.

Early in her career, Karen served as the Vice President of Corporate Communications for the American Stock Exchange. She was the Director of Transition for New Jersey Governor-Elect Jim Florio and the first female commissioner of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority. She earned an AB in economics from Vassar College.

Professional Memberships

Currently, Karen Kessler serves as an appointed member to the New Jersey Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct. In 2023, she was appointed by New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy as a Commissioner of the state’s Motion Picture and Television Commission.

Karen has served on various Boards of Directors of public companies and leading not-for-profits in finance, health care and education, including Atlantic Health System; AllSpire Health Partners; Northfield Bancorp, Inc.; the Institute for Ethical Leadership at Rutgers University Business School; CoVista, a NASDAQ-listed Telecommunications Company; Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey; PNC Arts Center; and the Drumthwacket Foundation (the Governor’s mansion).

Additionally, she has served as commissioner of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, the first woman appointed to the governing body of MetLife Stadium; Izod Arena; Meadowlands and Monmouth racetracks, and the Atlantic City Convention Center.

Work Highlights

Karen is a regular invited speaker and panelist at meetings of the New Jersey Bar Association and has served as Board Chair of Rutgers University Business School Institute for Ethical Leadership and as a visiting Fellow at the Eagleton Institute of Politics.

A reliably provocative commenter on reputation issues for print and broadcast, Karen has served as an on-air reputation consultant to the “NBC TODAY SHOW” and others. Her work has been the basis of both Oscar-nominated blockbusters and documentary films. The acclaimed documentary film “DIVIDE AND CONQUER: THE STORY OF ROGER AILES” profiled Kessler’s work on the Fox News legal case.

Her commentary and interviews appear in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Star-Ledger, CNN, MSNBC and Inside Edition, among others. She served as a technical consultant to TV shows “THE GOOD WIFE” and “NASHVILLE.”

She and her work have received dozens of awards from local, regional, and national organizations.

Education

Awards