Doug Karr is President & CEO of Character.org, helping to infuse a culture of character in schools and communities throughout the world. With more than 25 years of successful business leadership and community-building experience, Doug brings his vision and enthusiasm to this role, providing corporate direction and strategy to incubate good character in the world via Character.org’s many gateways to the youth.
Doug says, “Character is the ultimate success factor in any human endeavor. I’m passionate about Character.org because we are transforming the world, one student, one school, one business, one community at a time.”
Before joining Character.org, Doug spent ten years with non-profit groups focused on building strong communities and helping the disenfranchised. A social and business entrepreneur, he also led several successful start-ups, including a non-profit 501c3 in the DC metropolitan area as well as a for-profit consulting firm that helped incubate and grow new ventures and small businesses.
Doug began his career in healthcare and has held leadership positions at world-class universities and teaching hospitals as well as with private-sector business and information management firms. In 2001, he co-founded and led American Teleradiology Nighthawks (now Nighthawk Radiology Services (NASDAQ:NHWK), which was a pioneer in the telemedicine field. At the time telemedicine was moving from an idea to an niche; now, telemedicine and medicine are one and the same.
Throughout his career, Doug has firmly believed in the value of education, mentoring and incubating new ideas to improve outcomes for individuals as well as organizations. Doug has mentored, coached and taught in various settings, including public and private schools as well as with various businesses and nonprofit organizations. He believes that character education is foundational to a successful life and is synonymous with a high quality, well-rounded education.
Doug completed his undergraduate studies in Business and Psychology at Virginia Tech where he was also a swimmer. He received his Masters in Health Science with a concentration in Finance and Administration from The Johns Hopkins University in the Bloomberg School of Public Health. Doug and his wife Dana have been married for over 25 years and they have four young children who are passionate learners and avid athletes.