Mohawk Valley Community College has named Karen Korotzer ’89 the Alumni of Merit winner for 2020.

Korotzer has spent 30 years advocating for the rights of others and making sure that people with disabilities have the lives they want to live. Since 2011, she has served as the CEO of The Arc, Oneida-Lewis, a non-profit agency that supports 1,400 people with disabilities from birth to seniors and their families across two counties. Prior to this, she worked in a variety of healthcare settings including hospital and state government positions as a clinical social worker and later in senior management positions. Since 2006, Karen also has taught distance learning courses to undergraduate human services students through the University of Phoenix.

Korotzer credits MVCC’s faculty with inspiring her to want to help others through their real-world experience, and says MVCC is where her passion and dedication in the field of human services began. 

Korotzer earned a master’s of business administration, master’s of social work, and a bachelor’s degree in psychology all from University of Albany, and an associate degree in psychology/human services from MVCC.