Dr. Karen Bauer is a Wound Certified and Vascular Surgery Nurse Practitioner. She graduated with a B.A. in Sociology from the University of Toledo, an M.S. from The Ohio State University and a Doctorate of Nursing Practice from The University of Toledo. She has been practicing as a wound practitioner for over 18 years and in vascular surgery for over 8 years. She currently practices at George Washington University Hospital. Karen has extensive leadership experience, most recently at Emory University in the Division of Vascular Surgery as the Limb Preservation Coordinator. For over 13 years she served as the Director of Wound and Vascular Services and Lead APP at the University of Toledo Medical Center in the Division of Vascular Surgery and concurrently as the Program Director at a rural wound center in Wauseon, Ohio. She is a recent past-president of the Society for Vascular Nursing and a long-time Board Member and Fellow of the AAWC, where she was also the Education Steering Committee co-chair ofr many years. She is inaugural APP faculty of the Society for Vascular Surgery’s Leadership Development Program and the Chair-Elect of the American Venous Forum Associate Member Committee. She is a Board Member of the Save a Leg Save a Life Foundation and the Alliance of Wound Care Stakeholders. Karen participates on the American Heart Association’s Peripheral Artery Disease National Action Plan Steering Committee and is an editorial reviewer for many scientific journals. She serves on numerous national committees and lectures regionally, nationally, and internationally. She is also a published writer. In her free time, she loves to hang out with her daughter and family, follow her dog around, eat, and exercise!