Roots
Karen’s roots run deep here in South Dakota. She was born and raised in the Black Hills and was the oldest of six children, learning to be a servant-hearted leader at a young age. She’s a proud Cobbler and graduate of Rapid City Central High School. She was active in the marching band and stage band, and spent her teen years as an organist at the Cathedral.
She earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Chemistry from the respected South Dakota School of Mines, and became President of American Chemical Society Student Chapter, a member of Alpha Chi Sigma, and a valuable member of the stage band.
After completing her master’s degree, Karen began her career at Shell, and met the love of her life and soul mate, Greg. She is the daughter of the late Charles Kulpaca O.D. (Doc Kulpaca) and Beanie Bradsky Kulpaca.
Experience
As a trained scientist, Karen worked in corporate America for over 30 years and has traveled the world, negotiated high-stake deals and turned ideas into realities. She joined Shell Chemical (a division of Shell Oil) as a technical sales person in Texas, where Karen was awarded several sales and leadership awards during her career there.
Karen chose to leave the company after many years of success to prioritize taking care of her three young boys, along with her husband, until her children were older.
When she went back to the workforce, she returned to Shell Chemical in 1994 as a market development manager and authored several industry papers and technical bulletins. Her last position was a Sales Leader, directing a group of scientists and engineers at Kraton Polymers while managing a revenue stream that exceeded $100M annually.
She retired from Kraton in 2018 to care for her husband Greg when he was diagnosed with glioblastoma caused by his Agent Orange exposure during his time serving in Vietnam. When Greg passed in 2019, Karen returned to Rapid City and purchased her parents’ home, the same home she grew up in. She is a member of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church in Rapid City.
Family
Karen has always put family first – no matter what – by prioritizing her three sons and husband. When Karen took time off work to focus on her family, she volunteered as a soccer mom, a Timer on the swim team, a Cub Scout leader, as well as a Den Leader coach. She and her husband worked with the Sam Houston Scout council where all three of their sons became Eagle Scouts. She was also elected as the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) President for two years at Willow Creek Elementary in Kingwood, TX because of her leadership capabilities and servant-hearted character.
Her team was awarded Outstanding PTA for those two years. This was due to the innovative programs they started: Jr. Great Books, Discovery Science, Art Masterpiece, and many others as enrichment activities for the students K-5. Karen also played piano and organ for St. Martha’s Catholic Church in Kingwood, as well as for numerous weddings and funerals.
Karen’s proudest achievement in life are her three sons, Gregory, Justin and Josh, who she and her husband intentionally raised to fear God, work hard, and have strong character.