The Evens Foundation is pleased to welcome Karen Weisblatt as a new member of its Board of Directors.
Her appointment comes as part of a broader renewal of the Foundation’s governance. The Board is now formally constituted, with five further members: Jonathan Evens (Chair), Deborah Flon (Vice Chair), Corinne Evens (Co-founder), Gerard Salole, and Maria Orejas.
Weisblatt brings decades of experience working with philanthropic organisations, foundations, and NGOs across Europe and the United States, including the Ford Foundation, Fondation CHANEL and Fondation de France.
She offers a transatlantic and transnational perspective, having spent her formative years in the United States and worked extensively with European, US and international organisations, as well as academia.
Her focus is on the promotion and defence of democracy, one of the Evens Foundation’s core principles: "I see us being in a time of existential crisis, in Europe but also in the United States," she said. "I’m keen to support initiatives that I hope will keep us anchored in a democratic European Union."
Reflecting on the Foundation’s role, Weisblatt highlighted its capacity for experimentation and collaboration. "The Foundation’s past has included a tremendous amount of opportunity for innovation: it has often been the only one in a certain space," she explained. "So I’m interested in how it galvanises others to engage and how, from this relatively modest set of resources, we can be at the forefront of creating something more positive."
After studying undergraduate-level history at Oberlin College, Weisblatt left the USA to study in the then-Soviet Union on a Thomas J Watson fellowship, where she explored relationships between internal dissidents and the West.
She went on to study political science at the London School of Economics before moving to Paris, where she received an MPhil in history at La Sorbonne. She later became a long-standing adjunct faculty member at Sciences Po, where she was a full-time Programme Director for a decade before joining the Ford Foundation as their consultant in Europe. In 2005, she founded the philanthropic and social sector consultancy firm Weisblatt & Associés.
Her broader professional trajectory has been guided by long-standing values and philosophy around responsibility and public engagement. "I have, I think, very strong ideas about how you should leave the world a better place. I’ve always been centred on the notion that you should do what you can to give back."
Weisblatt’s appointment reflects the Foundation’s commitment to strong governance, diverse perspectives, and thoughtful leadership at a time when democratic institutions face increasing strain.