This is part of WTOP’s continuing coverage of people making a difference from our community authored by Stephanie Gaines-Bryant. Read more of that coverage.
As a risk management specialist, D.C. native Karen Hardy is one of a handful of African American women in the field and one of a few Black, indigenous and people of color who have written books on the multi-billion dollar industry.
She is a three-time best-selling author and the CEO of Strategic Leadership Advisors, a consulting business. That’s why, Hardy says, it’s essential for her to educate a diverse audience about how risk management works “in a non-threatening way.”
Hardy wrote a series of award-winning books on risk management called “Flip This Risk.” The series focuses on questions to ask about risk management, insights on security management risks for organizations and things every podcaster should avoid to be successful.
She wrote the series — compiling powerful narratives from a diverse group of women experts in security management — to increase diversity in risk management publications.
Along with the books, Hardy has a podcast focused on “the human-side of risk-taking and how it influences our business and personal achievements.”
“Risk isn’t something we have to be afraid of,” she said. “It’s something there to help us grow.”
During Women’s History Month, Hardy wants the next generation of women leaders to know that the sooner they understand how to take risks responsibly, the sooner they can succeed because “life is about risk and reward.” She added that young people have the power and authority to lead themselves with risk and reward.
Hardy, a mother and grandmother, also said she also wants women to know that what they do is important.
“They may not be in the media. They may not have a best-selling book,” she said. “But, there are people who depend on them, who look up to them, who are inspired by them.”
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