Class of 2015
Karen Bordeleau has enjoyed a successful career in journalism and as an educator.
She became the first female Senior Vice President and Managing Editor of the Providence Journal in 2013. Karen recently retired from the newspaper to pursue other career interests.
Karen started her journalism career in the 1970s and before working at the Journal, was managing editor of the Woonsocket Call and the Kent County Daily Times in West Warwick, RI.
She joined the Providence Journal in 1996 as a Copy Editor and Special Section Reporter and worked in various editing and management capacities before assuming the senior management positions in 2013.
In 2014, Karen achieved what is considered the highest individual journalism honor in New England. Fellow journalists chose her for the Yankee Quill Award in recognition of her fierce dedication to press freedom, a strong commitment to the watchdog principles of journalism, and her leadership role in training and mentoring journalists in Rhode Island and from other countries.
Karen is an Adjunct Professor of Journalism at Emerson College in Boston. She has participated in journalism exchange programs with Russia, Iran, Pakistan, and Kenya. The mission of those exchanges has been to share the principles of ethical and responsible journalism in countries with restrictive press laws.
Karen is also a member of the Board of Directors of the New England First Amendment Coalition, the Metcalf Institute for Marine and Environmental reporting and the Rhode Island Press Association. She is a past president of both the New England Associated Press News Executives Association and the New England Society of Newspaper Editors. She also created the Providence Journal’s Public Occurences discussion series.
