Karen is a child rights and safety specialist and has dedicated her career to promoting the best interests of children and their protection from harm. As the Head of Safeguarding for the LEGO Group, Karen led the development and implementation of safeguarding strategy, policy and processes across the business. She drove meaningful culture change, including building safeguarding capacity and expertise, to create safer environments for children and young people in the offline and online world. Karen was the senior escalation point for all safeguarding incidents, including the response to digital child safety risks. She is an expert in assessing and mitigating risks and communicating complex safeguarding issues in an understandable way.  Karen was also the Child Participation lead at the LEGO Group, and designed training, principles and procedures to equip the business to co-design with children in a safe and meaningful way. She is a passionate advocate for promoting children’s rights and agency in both physical and digital spaces.  

Previously, Karen was a Partnerships Lead at the National Crime Agency and successfully engaged high-level stakeholders, building influential collaborations and winning support for international safeguarding initiatives in both the corporate sector and civil society. She also supported in the early-stage development of the Online Safety Act as part of a Home Office taskforce. 

Karen holds a Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Edinburgh, and brings operational experience gained from her time as a front-line child protection social worker in London, grounding her practice in both lived realities and systemic change.