Karen Verhey, CMP, is the senior director of operations and events at the Society for College and University Planning (SCUP). She oversees human resources, technology, finance, and the day-to-day functionality of the organization. She also has strategic oversight in planning and creating SCUP events that connect, engage, and provide shared learning opportunities for integrated planning solutions.

Prior to joining SCUP in late 1999, Verhey worked for the University of Michigan, from where she had graduated and majored in environmental science with the thought of earning a master’s in landscape architecture. Wanting a bit of a timeout from continued studies, she accepted her first “adult” job as the assistant to the executive director at the University of Michigan M-Pathways project, which implemented PeopleSoft business into the university. It was through that experience that she discovered a passion for creating memorable events. That led her to SCUP, as the assistant to the executive director, where she learned the ropes of event planning by organizing board and committee meetings. She eventually assumed the coordination and planning of all of SCUP’s events.

Verhey was born and raised in Ann Arbor, and now enjoys country life west of the city. When not working, she can be found gardening (aka weeding) in her vegetable garden, enjoying the outdoors, traveling, or planning the next travel adventure. Born into a family of travelers, Verhey spent the first year of her life living in Sri Lanka, and has since enjoyed visiting Nepal, India, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, Tahiti, Spain, the Netherlands, Paris, Mexico, and Canada.