Meet Kathryn Karow, CPP, PHR, SHRM-CP President of the Northstar Chapter
BY CAREN BENNETT
For Kathryn (Katie) Karow, CPP, PHR, SHRM-CP, education is at the heart of the Northstar Chapter in Minnesota. Payroll education and knowledge is what attracted Karow to the chapter eight years ago. As Chapter President, she works with the board and chapter members to improve and promote educational offerings. The Northstar Chapter is unique in that it serves payroll professionals not only in Minnesota, but in North Dakota, South Dakota, Eastern Wisconsin, and Northern Iowa.
“It is incredibly important for us to provide educational opportunities to these areas in the most economical way possible,” Karow explains.
She has done this by working closely with the chapter board to enhance their meeting format. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the chapter successfully hosted online meetings. Now that they have returned to having in-person meetings, Karow said she recognizes the
need for a hybrid option to reach more members.
“It’s become incredibly evident that there is a gap for those who can’t attend in-person because of location or work responsibilities,” she says, “As such, we recently invested in upgraded technology to ensure that anyone unable to join us in-person, can still obtain the education in real-time, remotely.”
Karow is proud of how well the Northstar Chapter continues to adapt to the ever-changing environment with hybrid meetings and being adaptable to new ways of doing things.
“Rather than the mentality of ‘this is how we’ve always done it,’ we’re looking ahead at how we can bring in the next generation,” she explains.
Karow says that connecting with PayrollOrg has provided the support she has needed to run the Northstar Chapter. She has found the regional meetings and the PayrollOrg website to be particularly helpful with providing resources to grow the chapter.
“There are so many resources for us! I’m surprised at how much potential there is to continue growing and connecting with surrounding
chapters. I am excited to continue with building our membership for the next generation of payroll professionals,” she says.
Karow feels that the most fulfilling part of serving as Chapter President has been creating relationships with members. She has met many
payroll professionals by serving on the board and even more serving as Chapter President.
“Our membership is so diverse in their experience that you learn something new every time you talk to them,” Karow says.
Karow looks forward to growing the chapter membership. She has been actively working on this goal, using LinkedIn to advertise meetings and to invite people who don’t work in payroll so they can see what the chapter is all about. Karow says that this strategy has attracted new members who otherwise would not have known there was a local chapter. Soon, Karow plans to reach out to current national members
and businesses and organizations that are not involved at the local or national level.
“As more members get involved, the chapter will be able to provide more educational offerings and networking opportunities,” she explains.
Not surprisingly, Karow says she loves learning from both a student and a teaching perspective. She stives to earn a new certification every year or so.
“Then, I like to turn around and teach the next group of people what I learned,” she explains, “Public speaking invigorates me, especially when I see that lightbulb moment of learning and engagement.”
In her personal time, Karow enjoys exploring new breweries and golf courses. Luckily for her, Karow says “Minnesota has plenty of both and we never run out of options!” ■
Caren Bennett is the Editorial Assistant of the Editorial Division
for PayrollOrg.
PayrollOrg (PAYO), www.payroll.org, is the nation’s leader in payroll education, publications, and training. This nonprofit association conducts more than 300 payroll training conferences and seminars across the country each year and publishes a complete library of resource texts and newsletters. Representing more than 20,000 members, PAYO is the industry’s highly respected and collective voice in Washington, D.C. Get more information at www.payroll.org.