Karen Kalish at home. Photo by Craig Kaminer
TO WHOM MUCH IS GIVEN, MUCH WILL BE REQUIRED (Luke 12:48) Written by Craig Kaminer
For years I have known Karen Kalish as a self-proclaimed serial social entrepreneur and quite visible in our community as an activist, a doer, and an outspoken advocate of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Recently I bumped into her at dinner in Clayton and we briefly discussed her history, some current projects, what she wants to do next, and we agreed to meet at her home to share coffee and stories. Karen Kalish’s world is colorful, upbeat, hopeful, and actionoriented. She loves solving societal problems and lets nothing get in her way. In the past 30 years, she has started three successful nonprofits (Operation Understanding DC, Cultural Leadership, and HOME WORKS!) as well as a program within the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department called Books and Badges. With her striking silver hair, handsome good looks, fiery spirit, and intensity to get things done, she isn’t like many people I know. As a former TV news reporter in Washington, D.C. and Chicago, and armed with a Master in Public Policy degree from Harvard’s Kennedy School, she doesn’t mess around. She literally speaks in perfect sound bites with no “ums, ya knows, or likes.” She has a lot on her mind, is clear in her resolve, and tells it like it is. While she admits most people either love her or don’t love her, she seems perfectly fine with that. Now 76 years old and healthy, she knows that she will start or do something else soon. She lives by the 26 slmag.net
saying, “To whom much is given much is required.” She does her work in the community with love, intention, purpose, and passion. Once she gets started there is no stopping her. She admits, “When I see something that needs doing, I grab an ally or two or three, roll up my sleeves, and get to work.” She’s a fifth-generation Jewish American with her genetic roots from Germany and Poland. She is the daughter of a patent attorney father and amateur archeologist mother, and granddaughter of another patent attorney and “a grandfather in millinery.” She has been married twice, but is not currently, and says she doesn’t want to be a nurse or a purse! The story of starting each of the nonprofits is fascinating. But Kalish warns, “Never start anything alone. It’s the weakest form of leadership. You need partners, collaborators, mentors, and coaches to be successful.” She feels strongly about nonprofits being high performing and making an impact with data to prove it. “There are too many nonprofits that aren’t.” Years ago, when living in Washington, D.C., she heard about a leadership program in Philadelphia for Black and Jewish kids to learn about their own and each other’s race, culture, and history. She started it in Washington, calling it Operation Understanding DC (OUDC). The students in Philly learned about the historic
