Karen A. mcneill, Phd, cap®
Director of Human Capital
Karen is the Director of Human Capital for Johnson Financial Group. As part of the Human Capital team, Karen develops programming and individualized support to help client families create their unique path to thriving. She is particularly passionate about family history and legacy, philanthropy, and women and wealth.
Karen earned a Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts, and Ph.D. in history from the University of California, Berkeley. She also holds a Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy (CAP®) certification from the American College of Financial Services, is certified in the communications and temperament assessment Real Colors®, and trained in family governance.
Prior to joining JFG, Karen worked at Ascent Private Capital Management of U.S. Bank, where she created the family history service offering as part of a holistic approach to wealth management of ultra-high-net-worth multi-generational families. Karen has also worked in historic preservation and taught at colleges and universities in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Karen serves on the Board of Trustees of the Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation (BWAF) and the League of Women, the advisory board of the If You Knew Me podcast. She is frequently asked to speak on the subject of historians working outside of academia and has extensive public speaking, publishing, and podcasting experience.
In her spare time, Karen enjoys gardening, cooking, reading, hiking in the hills and long walks on the beach with her husband, two kids, and puppy. The cat stays home. She is also working on a biography of Julia Morgan, the architect of Hearst Castle.