Karen RIghtmire Details
Karen Rightmire
Karen Rightmire served 56 years in the health and human service sector.
She began her career with the Berks County Intermediate Unit in 1970 and spent almost 20 years in positions including special education teacher, childcare center director, director of pre-school education, and director of community and human services. These programs served 1,350 children and their families through Head Start, Early Intervention and Community Child Care. She retired in 1989.
From 1989 until her retirement in June 2009, Rightmire led the United Way of Berks County. As its president, she administered the organization’s 35-member staff and more than 3,000 volunteers, each year successfully raising money to support more than 35 Berks County health and human services organizations. In her final year, the organization raised $9,000,000.
She served as the President of the Wyomissing Foundation from 2010 until 2022, stepping down to become the Chief Strategy Officer until her retirement in January of 2026. The Foundation was an early supporter and funder of Berks Tec Centro.
Rightmire is an Emeritus Trustee and served on the Albright College board from 1994 to 2008, and again from 2010 to 2015. She is currently on the board again. Other former board service includes the Reading Hospital and Medical Center, Tower Health, Tompkins VIST Bank, the Berks County Workforce Investment Board, the Berks Business Executives Forum, the Berks Economic Partnership Board of Directors, and the United Way of Pennsylvania Board of Directors. She was a founding member of the Board of Directors of the Berks County Community Foundation and served on the Federally Qualified Heath Center Advisory Committee which was instrumental in establishing the Berks Community Health Center.
She is currently a board member of: the Reading Hospital Foundation, The Highlands at Wyomissing, Albright College and Tec Centro Berks.
Her many honors include honorary degrees from Albright College and Alvernia University, and having Tec Centro Berks’ auditorium named in her honor: The Karen Rightmire Auditorium.