Overview

Karen Morris is an executive, general counsel, and board advisor with years of experience in legal, strategy, communications, marketing, and product management. She has both held senior operating roles and served as a director and advisor to boards in complex, highly regulated organizations, including as Senior Vice President and General Counsel of USAA’s Property and Casualty Group, one of the largest P&C carriers in the United States. Morris brings deep expertise in enterprise leadership, governance, risk management, and strategic decision-making to her mentoring engagements.

Career History

Morris served as Senior Vice President and General Counsel for USAA’s Property and Casualty (P&C) Group, the seventh-largest P&C carrier in the United States with operations across Europe and the U.K. In this role, she led a multidisciplinary legal and professional team and provided legal, regulatory, and governance counsel to the P&C President, the P&C leadership team, and the USAA P&C Group company boards. Her scope included oversight of complex regulatory matters, enterprise risk issues, and strategic initiatives supporting a business with national scale and global operations.

Morris began her career at Allstate, where she rose through the ranks across legal and business leadership roles. Starting as Counsel, she progressed through positions including Government and Community Relations Manager, Marketing Director, Managing Counsel, and ultimately Assistant Vice President. At Allstate, Morris led teams responsible for corporate reputation strategy, strategic product development, and long-term business planning for high-risk geographies. She played a key role in addressing significant legal and regulatory challenges, including implementation of California’s Proposition 103, response to major catastrophes such as Hurricane Katrina, and advocacy on critical public policy issues including catastrophe exposure management, the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA), and insurance regulatory reform.

In parallel with her operating career, Morris has been engaged in advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion within the legal profession. Her recognitions include the National Association of Women Lawyers’ Virginia S. Mueller Outstanding Member Award and designation as a Top General Counsel by the National Diversity Council in 2021. She served as an executive board member of the National Association of Women Lawyers, including as President from 2020-21. She also served as a member of the University of Texas Center for Women in the Law General Counsel Working Group.

Personal

Morris earned a B.A., magna cum laude, from St. Mary’s University of Minnesota and a J.D. from the University of Illinois College of Law. She is also an Associate Certified Coach (ACC) of the International Coaching Federation (ICF), with advanced training in the Neuroscience of Change, Internal Family Systems and Adult Development. She’s a passionate supporter and advocate for a number of causes and organizations including the Human Rights Campaign and Best Friends. Born and raised in Chicago, Morris now resides in Burbank, California where she enjoys the sun, the warm community, active lifestyle, and spending time with her husband and adult children.