Profiles: Karen M. Roye

Karen Roye

EMPA '15

Department Head at City and County of San Francisco, Director of Child Support Services

“A setback is really a setup for something greater!”

"GGU helped me overcome my greatest challenge -- the fear that I wasn't able to get a master's degree, because I didn't think I was smart enough and walked away from getting a master's degree, blaming a busy work schedule. It wasn't until I found my "dream team" in GGU's Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA) program (led by Dr. Gonzalez) that I finally confronted my fear of failure. They walked with me every step of the way, every class, every paper! Thanks to the "dream team," I graduated with honors and am proud to say I have an EMPA from Golden Gate University!"

-- Karen M. Roye

Karen M. Roye was appointed Director of the San Francisco Department of Child Support Services by Mayor Gavin Newsom in 2004, where she has been a pioneer in introducing innovative programs and collaborations that revolutionized child support service delivery to custodial and non-custodial parents. She has held a seat on the San Francisco Reentry Council since 2006, the Family Violence Council since 2007, and the Sentencing Commission since 2012. Additionally, she has served on the California Board of Behavioral Sciences, and the Board of the San Francisco Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Prior to her current position, Roye served as a Budget Analyst for the Mayor's Office of Budget and Legislative Affairs, assisting in the development of the city's 2001-2002 fiscal year budgets for Mayor Willie L. Brown, Jr. Her career with the City and County of San Francisco began in 1998 with a position as a Budget Analyst with the Bureau of Finance for the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. Before joining the City and County of San Francisco, she was Assistant Vice President at Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company.