Karen Bhatia is Senior Vice President at the New York City Economic Development Corporation, leading Creative and Applied Tech strategies to promote economic development and entrepreneurship throughout the city. This includes emerging tech initiatives such as NYC’s blockchain strategy, launching the first publicly-funded VR/AR Lab in the country, and spearheading the City’s strategy for ethical development of AI & data. Karen is also an attorney, entrepreneur and startup advisor. She was the principal of her own law firm advising tech startups on corporate issues, financing and overall business strategy. As an entrepreneur, Karen founded ActionCam, an educational platform explaining public policy issues and providing resources for people to take action. Karen also founded Stanford Startups NY, a business network of over 700 Stanford entrepreneurs and investors in the region. She is an advisor to several tech organizations and also on Board of Trustees of Mott Hall, a middle school in the South Bronx. Raised in Queens, Karen has a B.A. from Stanford University, a Master’s degree in Public Policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and a J.D. from George Washington University Law School.