Karen Sowers

Karen Sowers is the Executive Director of the Pacific Northwest Canola Association. She grew up near Manhattan, Kansas and graduated from Kansas State University with a B.S. in Agronomy, followed by an M.S. in Soil Science from Washington State University. Karen spent 12 years at Washington State University as the Extension and Outreach Specialist for the Washington Oilseed Cropping Systems (WOCS) Project, organizing field tours, workshops, and conferences that were focused primarily on educating growers about canola. In 2016, she initiated meetings to reestablish a regional canola association for Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington, and the Pacific Northwest Canola Association (PNWCA) was incorporated in 2017. Karen initially served as the interim Executive Director of the PNWCA, and was hired as Executive Director before departing WSU in 2019. She is a dedicated agvocate for farmers, agriculture, and the canola industry, and is passionate about canola being recognized as a ‘major’ crop in the Northwest U.S. Karen and her husband, Brett, live in Tucson, Arizona and have 2 grown children and 2 grandchildren.