The Karen Carns Foundation

Tom is a Senior Vice President with Morgan Stanley. He is an alumnus of Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio.  He is heavily involved in the Karen Carns Foundation, which he helped found.  He enjoys Xavier basketball, golf, racquetball, biking and time with his family.  Tom has four children.

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Jim was born and raised in Cincinnati and is a graduate of St. Xavier High School and Miami University. Some of Jim’s past volunteer activities include the Leukemia Team in Training, the Paul Lammermeier Foundation and coaching kids sports at All Saints Parish for 20 years. Jim is married to Julie Schmitt Kelly (graduate of Ursuline & Miami), and they have four children and four grandchildren.

Courtney is the Executive Director for the Karen Carns Foundation.  She handles all the administrative functions and helps to communicate, organize, plan and run events. Courtney was in marketing research for 10 years with Nielsen and holds a MBA and a Bachelors degree from Xavier University.  She is active in the Greater Cincinnati tennis community, serving as captain of teams in several leagues. Courtney is married and has two daughters. 

Nick is VP of Sales for Heidelberg Distributing Company in Cincinnati, Ohio.  After a 22 year career with Anheuser-Busch, Nick left to remain local with Heidelberg.  He was born and raised in Toledo, Ohio; graduated from Arizona State University and has been a resident of Mason, Ohio since 1999.  Nick is an avid golfer and enjoys spending time with his 3 children.

Bob is Senior Sales Vice President, Comey & Shepherd Realtors. A lifetime Anderson Township resident, he is a graduate of St. Xavier High School in 1980 and Xavier University in 1984. He is an active member with the Cincinnati Area Board of Realtors, and is involved with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. He enjoys golf and platform tennis. Bob is married to Mary, and they have four grown children and two grandchildren.

Dan is VP of Sales and Marketing at Prominent Title Agency, LLC, Cincinnati, Ohio. A graduate of The Wichita State University, he has been a resident of Mason, Ohio since 1999. Dan is currently a volunteer and board member for the United Way of Warren County; Executive Secretary for the Greater Cincinnati Mortgage Bankers Association; and an active member of St. Susanna Catholic Church. He is married to Angie and has 3 children; the oldest, a resident of Austin, Texas; the second is a student at Cincinnati State; and the third is making her way through Mason City Schools.

John is President of Frey Gaede and Company (28 years), Partner/Owner of Blazer Brusa Sales (15 years) and Partner/Owner of Harbinger National (6 years). He is an alumnus of Miami University (1985). He is involved with the City of Hope Medical Center that offers treatment and care for cancer patients throughout the country, and Co-Chairs the Regional Fundraising Event on behalf of the Office Products industry. John is also involved with several industry boards and councils for manufacturers and dealers in the Office Products Industry; and served on past councils with Fellowes, MeadWestvaco, Ace Label, Nukote and Friends Business Source. He is married with 3 children, and resides in Mt. Adams, where he is a member of Holy Cross-Immaculata Parish.

Steve is a partner at Rendigs, Fry, Kiely & Dennis, LLP. His practice focuses on business law, estate planning, trust administration, and the defense of professional liability claims. These practice areas include corporate law, commercial and malpractice litigation. He regularly handles negotiations, acquisitions and leasing of commercial properties. Steve also assists small businesses in all aspects of initial startup including entity selection and formation as well as the sale and purchase of a business. His litigation experience includes numerous trials in State and Federal court both prosecution and defending contract disputes, will contests, fiduciary and professional liability claims, and personal injury lawsuits. His professional affiliations include the Cincinnati Bar Association, the Ohio State Bar Association, the Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Arbitration (Chairman), and the Clermont County Common Pleas Court Arbitration (Chairman). He is also involved with the Volunteer Lawyers for the Poor. Steve is a 1982 graduate of Xavier University, and a 1985 graduate of the University of Cincinnati College of Law.

Ed is an Executive Vice President of Sales for LOTH Cincinnati’s Architecture, Furniture and Technology division.

Driscoll joined LOTH after nearly 20 years with Xerox, bringing a professional background in sales process, organizational development, customer-centric solutions and service-led business models. Ed most recently led Xerox’s Large Enterprise, Healthcare and Education.

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He is a certified Lean Six Sigma Green Belt.  He holds a bachelor’s degree in Marketing from Xavier University in Ohio.

Mike is a Managing Director and the Market Manager for The Ohio Market of Wells Fargo Advisors.

Jon established the consulting firm Lean Manufacturing Solutions, LLC (LMS) in December of 2014. The company focuses on helping manufacturing companies to drive improved financial performance from operations utilizing Toyota Production System based lean practices. Development of the management team and workforce to ensure an environment of continuous improvement is core to the operating approach that Jon has adopted for both small and large manufacturers. LMS also provides a platform for providing operational diligence assessments for Private Equity clients and evaluating his own investments in small to mid-cap manufacturing companies.

Al works in Cincinnati, OH, and lives in Ponte Vedra, Florida.  He has served as CFO for over 20 other early stage companies since 1995.  Previously, he was with U.S. Shoe Corporation as VP Merchandising of Footwear Retail.  He started his career at Deloitte.  Al was born and raised in Wisconsin, and earned his BS and MBA from Marquette University.  He is an active member of Christ Church in Ponte Vedra, Florida.  Al created a foundation in 2013 to financially support missionary families around the world.  Al is married to Annette with 3 children. Annette is a fashion designer and has her own line of clothes.  Adam is a Residential Director for Buena Vista University; Emma is in her third year of veterinary school in Dublin, Ireland; and Sam is a senior at Rochester Institute of Technology.

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Younger Generation Committee - Christy Carns is the CEO of the Younger Generation Committee.  She started this part of the Karen Carns Foundation in 2014 with the help of her friends and siblings.  The goal is to ensure that the Karen Carns Foundation continues on after all the current board members have retired.  Christy is the 2nd oldest of Tom's and Karen's daughters and currently is a Sales Excecutive for Takeda Pharmaceuticals in Cincinnati, OH.

Younger Generation Committee -Kelsey Reddy has been friends with the Carns family for years.  She is a Sr. Business Systems Analyst, SGH eCommerce with Luxottica, and lives in Cincinnati.  She shares the vision with Christy Carns of continuing on the Karen Carns Foundation and helping kids stay in their schools.

Younger Generation Committee -Chanze is a long time friend of the Carns family.  A graduate of Xavier University and now a very successful Officer and Marketing Analyst II at Fifth Third Bank in Cincinnati.  Chancze helped start the Younger Generation Committee with his good friends Christy and Kelsey.  He continues to support and attend all Karen Carns Foundation events.  His smile and enthusiasm help everyone!

Younger Generation Committee -Kelly is the youngest of the Carns kids and works as a Commercial Sales Specialist for Shaw Industries in Birmingham, Alabama.  Kelly helped start the Younger Generation Committee and put on the first Black & White Party in 2015.  She is always smiling and happy and continues to support and help from Alabama.

Younger Generation Committee -Katie Carns is the oldest of Tom & Karen's kids.  Currently living in Berlin, Germany, Katie is a freelance copy editor and is enjoying that job freedom to travel and see the world.  Katie is a graduate of Ohio State University and continues to help the foundation from across the globe with her fantastic editing of our materials and letters.