Karen Whitt

Karen Whitt is a veteran commercial real estate leader with responsibility for management of more than 600 million square feet across the US. She leads a team of industry specialists that collaborate to address the health of properties from multiple perspectives and add long-term value. Karen focuses on building lasting relationships by examining clients’ entire real estate portfolio and developing solutions which link services to ensure providers work towards the same goal. 

Karen has nearly 30 years of experience leading commercial real estate firms and delivering reliable growth. Prior to joining Colliers International, she worked with Grubb & Ellis as the President of Management Services/Strategic Accounts. Before working there, she was a Principal with Trammell Crow Company for nine years. She began her career in San Diego and has directly managed office, retail and mixed-use portfolios for institutional clients. 

Active in both her professional and personal communities, Karen has held leadership positions with Lucky Dog Animal Rescue since 2016 and has fostered more than 400 dogs. She is also a founding member of the Virginia Tech Real Estate Program where she serves on the Board of Directors and is an active member of the Shelters to Shutters Advisory Board. She served on the CREW Network board for the 2019-2020 term and has been recognized for her industry leadership by numerous organizations. Her more recent awards include CREW’s Distinguished Leader and Catalyst awards, and GlobeSt’s Women of Influence Humanitarian and DEI awards and Top Influencer for CREi Women of Influence 2024. 

Karen lives in Northern Virginia with her husband, John, and their 14-year-old son Riley. Together they enjoy golf, puppy fostering, and beach getaways whenever their schedules allow.