Blog

By Lisa Ciota, Education Guide

Engage: to occupy, attract, or involve (someone’s interest or attention). That’s the only way to describe what Karen Bohr, CAC education guide and exhibit host, does. She engages visitors and students to learn about architecture, design, and Chicago, providing a sense of place through which they can experience and make meaning of such experience in a place. A new transplant to Chicago, Karen’s story proves:

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” – Lao Tzu

And so with Karen it began in Nashville, Tennessee, where she remembers, as a child, being awestruck with the classic architecture of public municipal buildings like Nashville’s old post office (now the Frist Art Museum). Such buildings engendered a sense of connection to place and time.

Karen took that sense of connection with her as she pursued a journalism degree at the University of Tennessee and her early career in public relations, including a short stint working in Hawaii. It was that thread of connecting information and people that led Karen to pursue a master’s degree in continuing education during the nascent days of the community college movement, focusing on informal education program planning and design.

With a real heart for the non-profit world, some of Karen’s most impactful work was with the American Cancer Society of North Carolina (Charlotte) where she served as director of media and public education. Later, after working a number of years with her husband at their small advertising agency, Karen redirected her focus to serve as a conflict resolution facilitator, helping non-profits and religious organizations navigate internal conflicts and change culture.

You may ask yourself, “Well, how did I get here?” – Once in a Lifetime, Talking Heads

After many years in Charlotte, it was time for a change for Karen and her husband. They sold their business and explored options for the next phase of their lives. It just so happened that their daughter had been living in Chicago for several years when they decided to take the plunge by moving here in July 2016.

They knew little of Chicago when they arrived, but that sense of being in awe of the buildings around her and a connection to place and time soon took hold. Karen and her husband explored Chicago and its neighborhoods, taking 40 tours through the CAC their first year here to really learn about the city.

It was while exploring the CAC’s website that Karen learned about the opportunity to become an education guide. It was the perfect opportunity – building on her experience in communications, continuing education, and contributing to the community. She became an education guide in 2017, learning our old flagship Student Loop tour and guiding school groups through the 2017 Chicago Architecture Biennial.

What Karen loves about being an education guide is the inquiry-based approach to engaging students and the interplay with them. Today, Karen can be found serving as a CAC exhibit host, helping facilitate student workshops, engaging guests at the Mobile Architecture Lab Cart, and leading the following tours: Chicago: City of Architecture, Science of Architecture, Explore the CAC, Building Blocks, and Insiders’ Guide to the Galleries.