Karen (Borlaug) Phillips, ’77

President, Policy & Advocacy Associates

Governance Committee Chair  |  Executive Committee  |  Audit Committee  |  Compensation Committee  |  Nominating Committee

Terms served: 2018-2021, 2021-2024

Career

Karen Borlaug Phillips is President of Policy & Advocacy Associates, which provides strategic planning, research, and lobbying services on public policy issues. Karen’s other private sector experience includes more than 14 years at Canadian National Railway Company (CN) (Vice President – Public & Government Affairs) and four years at the Association of American Railroads (Senior Vice President – Policy, Legislation, & Communications).  

During her time at CN, Karen also was a member of two U.S. Government advisory committees, serving for four years as a member of the Departmental Advisory Committee on the Commercial Operations of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (COAC), and for two years on the Surface Transportation Board’s Railroad-Shipper Transportation Advisory Council (RSTAC). In addition, she served on the Boards of the Canadian-American Business Council and the Canadian/American Border Trade Alliance.   

Karen also served in the U.S. Government in various capacities. She was a Republican member of the Interstate Commerce Commission as an appointee of Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. She also worked on Capitol Hill as Chief Economist and Tax Economist for the Republicans on the Senate Committee on Finance and as a Professional Staff Member for the Republicans on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Prior to her work on Capitol Hill, Karen was an Economist at the U.S. Department of Transportation.