Karen Baynes-Dunning has served as an attorney, judge and university professor.

Today, she’s a child welfare and juvenile justice consultant.

Still, she says her most significant role of all has been that of mother.

Baynes-Dunning and her husband, Art Dunning, have two children.

“Being a mom is the most challenging and rewarding job I have ever had,” the new LA board member a graduate and Class of 2016 says.

Because the bulk of Baynes-Dunning’s business is in Atlanta and Washington, D.C., she says her knowledge about opportunities to make a difference in Albany has been limited.

Until participating in Leadership Albany.

“I have learned so much more about Albany and how I can contribute,” she says.

Baynes-Dunning says her greatest LA memory is participating in “Learning About the Speed of Trust,” a team-building program that helps participants identify and address trust gaps in their personal credibility and their relationships at work.

Serving on the LA board, Baynes-Dunning says, will enable her to have a greater role in “expanding the positive of impact on this community.”

Baynes-Dunning’s interests outside of work include volunteering with youth in foster care, traveling, reading and writing. Her community contributions also include serving as the keynote speaker at Marine Corps Logistics Albany’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration in 2015.