Hello! My name is Karen Adjei, and I consider myself broadly as a culture care steward. I strongly believe that as an information professional, I have a critical role to play in cultivating a generative environment for people, especially those at the margins, to discover and effectively use information resources in order to better their personal and communal circumstances, thus healing parts of our culture where needed. I see myself as especially effective in this role within the realms of theology, restorative justice, and educational and artistic spaces. 
My culture care journey began with an undergraduate thesis on Japanese American incarceration during World War II, women’s experiences, and restorative justice. I was able to explore this topic more in-depth with an internship and fellowship at the Smithsonian Institution. Around the same time, I stumbled upon Makoto Fujimura’s Culture Care: Reconnecting with Beauty for Our Common Life, which has profoundly impacted my sense of being in the world. Administrative leadership positions coupled with coaching has helped me to discover and develop my strengths, and courses in theological librarianship and serving information needs has further solidified my passion in librarianship.
I received my Bachelor's in Arts from Northwestern University, where I majored in History and minored in Asian American Studies. I am currently in the Master of Library and Information Science program at the University of Maryland. Afterwards, I will enroll in the Master of Intercultural Studies program at Fuller Theological Seminary. I have also completed professional development certificates in nonprofit leadership, financial metrics and management, cultural intelligence, and metrics, outcomes and responsible evaluation.
In addition, I am privileged and honored to be part of Questbridge, Mellon Mays, Smithsonian, and ARL Scholar programs. Through these, I have published my work experiences in blogs and have secured grants for public and educational programming.