Karen Hudson: BE-STEMM 2023

Karen Hudson is an educator for the past 27 years with the Halifax Regional Centre for Education. She is the Principal of Auburn Drive High School in Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia and is a resident of the community of Cherry Brook/Lake Loon. Karen is involved in her community with a strong sense of commitment to give back. Her understanding and foundation is rooted in her cultural work. In the 1980s, she was involved in the Cultural Awareness Youth Group under the direction of David Woods who provided leadership, cultural awareness and history to local schools and community groups. Karen has chaired, co-founded, and participated on various boards such as the Freedom School, Africentric Learning Institute, COVID Impact Team, Connecting to Africa, the Indigenous Black and Mi’kmaq (IBM) committee at Dalhousie Law School. Currently, she is the interim president of the Black Educators Association (BEA). She has a Bachelor of Education and several Masters such as Administration Leadership and Environmental Studies where her thesis addresses “A Question of Environmental Racism within the Preston Area, Nova” written in 2001. She established the first Africentric Cohort in Math and literacy in a public school in 2018. In 2019, the Learning Partnership recognized her as one of Canada’s Outstanding Principals for her groundbreaking work. She has also assisted with the expansion of Africentric Cohorts in Horton High, Prince Andrew High, and Citadel High. She has been approached to work with our provinces to roll out Africentric Cohorts. She is the recipient of several awards such as the Nova Scotia Teacher’s Award, Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee, and Provincial Family Volunteer Award. She is passionate and dedicated to addressing issues of inequities, social justice, and the ability to build and maintain strong relationships. Karen believes in creating strong cultural identity among students within schools. She is the proud mother of two boys and a life-long learner.