Karen L. Shewbart holds a Bachelor of Science in chemistry and mathematics from the University of Central Arkansas and a Master of Science in chemistry from the University of Arkansas. Prior to retirement, she was the director of manufacturing and engineering learning resources for Dow Chemical, and was responsible for the training and professional development of 18,000 manufacturing and engineering employees. She developed and implemented a process to define core competencies for these employees at Dow and led the steering team that developed Dow University On-Line, a Web-based training program for Dow employees worldwide.

Shewbart has lent her leadership skills and expertise to a number of educational and environmental organizations. In addition to being a member of the College of Natural Sciences Advisory Council at The University of Texas at Austin, Shewbart served as its Chair from 2002-2004. She currently serves on the University’s Center for Nano-and Molecular Science and Technology Presidential Advisory Committee and has served as a regent for Brazosport College. In 1999, she was appointed by then Lt. Governor Rick Perry to the Special Commission on 21st Century Colleges and Universities, a 15-member board that offered recommendations on improving Texas’s institutions of higher education to lawmakers during the 2000 legislative session. Shewbart has also chaired Governor White’s Task force on Hazardous Waste, the Texas Chemical Council’s Water Task Force, the Chemical Manufacturing Association’s NPDES Task Force and Best Management Practices board and a committee of the Brazos River Authority.

Shewbart and her husband Bill live in Houston, Texas, where she has an active consulting business. In her leisure, she enjoys golf, water and snow skiing, hiking, and reading.