Karen_Egozi
Karen Basha Egozi
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Epilepsy Foundation of Florida Executive Director Karen Basha Egozi has been working on behalf of patients with epilepsy and their families since 2005, when she joined the South Florida Foundation as director.
She assumed her current position in November 2006 when the Epilepsy Foundation of South Florida and the Epilepsy Foundation of Northeast Florida merged to become the sole Florida licensee of the national Epilepsy Foundation and the first statewide organization to coordinate epilepsy research, treatment, education and fund raising efforts. The organization renamed itself the Epilepsy Foundation of Florida.
As the organization’s chief executive, Karen manages the efforts of a team of 37 employees in five offices throughout the state who provide direct services to citizens in 31 of Florida’s 67 counties, with statewide responsibility through the Florida Department of Health
Karen is a passionate leader and a tireless advocate who has effectively united epilepsy proponents and experts in a concerted effort to prevent the disorder, while also supporting those afflicted through increased awareness and funding.
For her efforts, she was selected by the Epilepsy Foundation as the national organization’s 2008 affiliate Executive of the Year. Under her guidance, the Miami-Dade office received national recognition, receiving the 2006 “Program Excellence” award from the National Epilepsy Foundation for its medical services program.
Under Karen’s administration, the agency’s funding has increased to its present revenues of $6 million through diversification of funding sources and the expansion of fundraising efforts. She also has secured in-kind donations generating $385,000 in savings during 2007 alone. Karen also obtained and oversees a $400,000 Florida Department of Transportation grant to purchase and distribute more than 42,000 bicycle helmets throughout the state.
Prior to joining the Epilepsy Foundation, Karen managed a $129 million budget as the Vice President of Administration for the Early Learning Coalition Miami-Dade/Monroe, which has statutory authority for planning and implementing the coordination of early learning services throughout the two counties, and as Chief Executive Officer of the Voices For Children Foundation, a fundraising organization dedicated to championing the Guardian Ad Litem Program of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit and advocating for the support of abandoned and abused children throughout Miami-Dade County. She also played a key role in the planning and design of voter-mandated funding for The Children’s Trust, a public agency whose purpose is to provide health, safety and development services to children and to promote parental responsibility for children throughout Miami-Dade.
Karen has served as Board Chair of Sant La Haitian Neighborhood Center since 2003 and as the federally appointed Housing Committee Chair for the Federal Home Bank of Atlanta from 2003-2006. Other leadership positions have included board member of Guardian Ad Litem Florida State Association and Trustee of the Endowment Committee Chair for Voices For Children
She is a graduate of Florida State University.
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