Karen Leshner, Founder

Karen founded Intrepid in 2008, and has been involved in her family’s philanthropy since 1997 through a predecessor organization. Her personal passion in philanthropy has centered around the idea of answering one question: “What can we do to make sure that great people go into the career of teaching and stay in the career?”

Prior to launching Intrepid, Karen was the founder and portfolio manager of an investment business based in Palo Alto, CA. Before her work in finance, she spent the first several years of her career as an engineer. Karen also worked for eight years as a volunteer music teacher at her local elementary school. Karen has a degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Virginia, and a Masters degree in Business from Vanderbilt University. Karen is also a Board Member of the New Teacher Center.