Karen Judson, an experienced grants manager from the Washington region, recently joined our staff as the new Grants Program Manager. We sat down with her to chat about her first few weeks at the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County, her interest in working in the arts, and more.

AHCMC: So tell us about yourself.

Karen: I’m an almost lifelong County resident. I like living in Montgomery County – in many ways the County is unique in all it has to offer its residents. In my personal life I enjoy travel, reading, theatre, and spending time with family and friends – I’m married with three grown sons. My background is in social work but my most recent work experience has been in grants management and program development.

AHCMC: What have your first few weeks at AHCMC been like?

Karen: Interesting – there is a lot to absorb! I’ve been spending time getting acquainted with the many different funding opportunities that AHCMC offers and the grants process overall. I’ve also begun sitting in on meetings with applicants so I’ve started to get to know a few of the people and organizations we work with.

AHCMC: What led you to AHCMC?

Karen: The Grants Program Manager position at AHCMC represented two special opportunities – to continue to positively impact the community through grant making and specifically to help advocate for the arts and humanities. Now that I’m at AHCMC I’m learning more about the many individual artists and arts organizations that make up the county’s diverse arts scene, and how AHCMC constantly assesses and re-assesses how best to support the work that they do and the vital contribution they make to life in Montgomery County. What I’ve always enjoyed most about grant making is working with effective nonprofits to help them put forward the strongest most compelling proposal for funding they can. I’m very excited to be here!