Karim Bouris

About Karim Bouris

By the time you’re asked for the time where you’re “from”, the message becomes loud and clear: whether it’s your classmate, your neighbor, your colleague or the person striking up a random conversation at an event asking the question, you’re not really from the same place.It took me a while to stop coming up with ever-so-creative retorts to see how many times they’d keep asking the same question: “I live down the street”“But where are you from?” - “I moved here from California”“And where were you before that?”- “In Florida”The only time the inquisition stopped is when I provided the answer they wanted to hear: from somewhere that’s foreign, far, and clearly not within the vicinity of their “from”. In case you’re wondering, my personal best is getting 5 questions deep before finally answering. After that, I learned that I’m either officially mean or just entertaining myself out of sheer boredom.And with that, you now know something that matters to me: I always tell a story to make a point. That’s pretty much the only way to communicate when you’re 100% Palestinian 100% Lebanese — and yes, 100% American. The other occupational qualification that comes from this heritage is a knack for standing up to injustice: being a child of a refugee, a child of war, and an immigrant five times over imprints a sense of personal mission:*That everyone deserves a sense of “home” and to belong — whatever shape that takes.*Being part of a diaspora dispossessed from its land, I know that true social change comes by reallocating power to marginalized groups; by figuring out pathways to effectively communicate their message at mainstream tables; and by utilizing a multimodal approach to build bridges of understanding. And I’ve been blessed to do this for more than 20 years in international business and community-based organizations, through the development of policies and programs that address economic, workforce, community and education needs.

Experience

1. Principal

   Mixte Communications

   Mar 2019 — Present · US

   Mixte is an immigrant-owned, woman-owned and values-run agency that only works with community-minded leaders. We don’t sacrifice our moral code for profit, we’re nationally recognized with excellence for Best Boutique Agency (twice!) for our commitment to equity.We offer award-winning digital marketing, public relations and strategic communications for advocacy nonprofits across the country who are fighting for all people to thrive.

Education

• University of Denver - Daniels College of Business

  Master's, Business Administration

  2001 — 2002

• Université Paris Nanterre

  Psychology

  1994 — 1996

• University of Denver

  BA, Psychology

  1997 — 1999

Skills

• Public Relations
• Organizational Development
• Public Speaking
• Community Outreach
• Community Development
• Workforce Development
• Program Management
• Policy Analysis
• Team Building
• Program Development
• Staff Development
• Non-Profits
• Economic Development
• Public Policy
• Conflict Resolution
• Leadership
• Grant Writing
• Board Development
• Volunteer Management
• Training
• Workshop Facilitation
• Philanthropy
• Fundraising
• Policy
• Leadership Development
• Strategic Planning
• Nonprofits
• Program Evaluation
• Grants
• Research