Karen Brooks Hopkins is the president of the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), where she has worked since 1979. As President, Hopkins oversees the Academy’s 300 full- and part-time employees and facilities, including the 2100-seat Howard Gilman Opera House, the 874-seat BAM Harvey Theater, the four-theater BAM Rose Cinemas and the BAMcafé. In May 2004, Hopkins concluded a two-year term as the Chair of The Cultural Institutions Group (CIG), a group comprising 33 prominent New York City-owned cultural institutions. In this capacity, she also served as a member of the Mayor’s Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission and is currently a member of the Board of NYC & Company, New York’s Convention and Visitor’s Bureau.
In 2006, she was appointed to the New York State Board of Regents by the Legislature for a term expiring in 2010. Hopkins is an active member of the Performing Arts Center Consortium, a national association of performing arts centers, and served as its chair from 1994 to 1996. She also serves on the Board of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, an economic development organization promoting the growth of the greater Downtown Brooklyn area and the BAM Cultural District.
In the spring of 1995, Hopkins served as the executive producer of the Bergman Festival, which celebrated the life and work of Swedish director Ingmar Bergman. In response to the success of the Bergman Festival, the Royal Dramatic Theater of Sweden honored her with a medal—the first time the honor was awarded to anyone outside of Sweden. Additionally, in recognition of her work on behalf of the Norwegian National Ballet, Norway awarded her its King Olav Medal. In November 2006, Hopkins was awarded the honor of Chevalier de L’Ordre des arts et des Lettres by the Republic of France, for her work supporting French culture in the United States.
Hopkins was an adjunct professor for the Brooklyn College Program for Arts Administration for four years. Her widely read book, Successful Fundraising for Arts & Cultural Organizations, is available in a revised second edition through Greenwood Publishing. She is a graduate of the University of Maryland and received her MFA from George Washington University in Washington, DC. Hopkins resides in Park Slope, Brooklyn.