Karen Walker is professor emerita of piano at Shenandoah Conservatory in Winchester, Virginia. Over her thirty-nine-year career at Shenandoah, Walker thrived in her work as a teaching artist and administrator. While serving as associate dean for graduate studies, she redesigned the doctoral curriculum to target the development of necessary skills for teaching and obtaining a position in higher education where courses such as The Artist Teacher in the Classroom and Career Navigation for the Artist Teacher provided centralized opportunities to hone these professional skills for future teaching artists. Particularly rewarding was the mentorship of graduate students in all conservatory programs through her role as coordinator of graduate and teaching assistantships. She holds degrees in performance and pedagogy from Eastern Washington University, Northwestern University, and The Catholic University of America. Walker is an active performer and collaborator and is a frequent adjudicator at regional, state and national festivals and competitions.