COPYWRITER + EDITOR

Karen Vujnovic

Here's a plot twist: Karen never wanted to be a writer. She majored in art history and fine arts, launching her career in the art department of an educational publisher—but her secret word nerd tendencies (Scrabble obsession, crossword addiction, and daily word-of-the-day emails) had other plans. After 15+ years as a professional writer and editor, she's discovered that this behind-the-scenes work makes a real impact, and she feels incredibly lucky to call it her career.

Marketing essentially stalked Karen into submission. While working at a small startup without a copywriter, she kept spotting errors on their website and persistently emailing corrections to the marketing director. Eventually, after enough friendly reminders, the director asked her to edit a piece—then made her the copywriter for the entire organization. Sometimes the best career moves happen when you can't help but fix what's broken.

Karen's superpower is crafting brand voices that hit the conversational sweet spot most companies miss. She helps organizations move beyond generic corporate speak or scattered messaging to develop identities that suit the brand, deliver the message, and—when she gets her way—inject some actual personality into the copy. Her philosophy? Most businesses aren't saving kittens or solving world hunger, so their tone shouldn't pretend they are.

In a previous role and during one particularly tense campaign meeting, Karen found herself mediating between a frustrated marketing director, conflicted client, and confused graphic designer. When nothing was clicking, she grabbed a dry erase marker (her secret weapon) and sketched out the client's logo vision on the whiteboard while tossing out tagline ideas. Suddenly, everyone was aligned and the solution materialized. The magic happened because she took time to truly understand the client's vision and bridge the communication gap between creative minds.

Karen's guiding principle is beautifully simple: "We can always change it." She constantly reminds clients that marketing is fundamentally about trial and error, encouraging them to step outside comfort zones and let their creative team work their magic. It might start messy, but the process of experimentation leads to polished work that can transform organizations.

Want to connect with Karen? Ask about her gloriously chaotic household (three kids, one fiancé, two dogs, and five cats), her obsession with live music (Pearl Jam, Springsteen, Jack White), her constant plotting for Mediterranean escapes, her professional-level thrifting skills, or prepare to debate the Oxford comma—she will fight to the death for it.