Meet Karen James

Karen James moved to Boone with husband eight years ago from Chicago. They had been traveling down to the Great Smokies for years before they decided they'd like to move from Chicago to these parts of North Carolina. Yearly exposure to the rich culture and sense of community that emerged in Cades' Cove on Old-Timers Day and throughout the mountains of our state particularly attracted Karen, who has traced her family's lineage to 17th Century Germany. She grew up in a small family farm community in Iowa. When Karen moved to Boone, she used her extensive experience in the medical field (she has a Ph.D. in Immunology) to consult throughout the US on Health Care Information Systems, solving information systems needs and applications. She also taught an ASU Health Care Management class. When she stopped consulting, she had time to take on plenty of other responsibilities in this community. Her appreciation for heritage and culture is evident in all that she does: she loves sharing her knowledge of the area on Museum tours, she is now tracing her husband's genealogy, she serves on the Board of Cove Creek Preservation and Development and has worked hard with committed citizens to save Cove Creek School; at St. Elizabeth's she works with the Hispanic Ministry Commission, and she still loves to travel to Cades' Cove to hear old-time music.