Karen Boykin-Towns announced as 2025 Commencement Speaker
With heartfelt gratitude and overwhelming excitement, the Office of the President is happy to announce that Karen Boykin-Towns, the NAACP icon that is currently the Vice Chair of the organization’s National Board of Directors, will be the 2025 Commencement Speaker.
Medgar Evers College’s 54th Commencement is scheduled for 10 a.m. on May 30 at the Coney Island Amphitheater.
According to her bio on the NAACP’s official website, Ms. Boykin-Towns’ “early career involved serving as legislative director and then chief of staff to New York State Senator David Paterson who later became the 55th Governor of New York. In this role, she led the strategy and execution of legislative efforts related to civil and human rights, community development, and environmental issues.”
She keeps herself busy not only with the NAACP as a diamond life member, but also with plenty of time devoted to serving on the boards of American Airlines Community Council; Visiting Nurse Services, and independent director for iFIT, maker of NordicTrack.
She also serves as Senior Advisor for FGS Global and was co-executive producer for the 53rd and 54th NAACP Image Awards shows.
Ms. Boykin-Towns’ success is not limited to her time in policy and politics, as she has also had an award-winning career in the private sector, including currently being the founder of Encore Strategies LLC. Prior to that, she championed civil rights and social justice issues while with Pfizer, a Fortune 50 biopharmaceutical company.
According to her bio, Ms. Boykin-Towns “has been featured in Black Enterprise, Bloomberg Businessweek, Black Entertainment Television, PR Week, Essence Magazine, WWD, Ebony Magazine, Crain’s, African American Career World, Network Journal, and The Cut. Savoy Magazine named her a “Top Influential Woman in Corporate America” in 2016. In 2020, she was named “Woman of the Year” by Seeds of Fortune and named by City & State as one of New York’s Power Players in Politics and Government. In 2021 Karen was selected for Lafayette 148’s Unordinary Women Campaign and in 2023 featured by City & State for their Above and Beyond Women award.”
Ms. Boykin-Towns and her husband, former State Assemblyman Darryl Towns, live in Brooklyn.