Karen Sewell
Dame Karen Margaret Sewell is a New Zealand educator and public servant.
Career
Educator
Sewell was born in Whanganui and attended Whanganui Girls College, where she was head girl and a classmate of future Māori Party leader Dame Tariana Turia. She studied at Victoria University of Wellington and trained as a teacher at Auckland Secondary Teachers’ College.She began her teaching career in about 1966 and worked in Wellington, England, and Auckland. Latterly, she was principal of Green Bay High School. During her teaching career, she was president of the Auckland Secondary Schools Principals' Association, and chairwoman of the New Zealand Post Primary Teachers' Association Principals' Council.
Senior public servant
Sewell commenced as chief executive of the Education Review Office in 1996. In 2005, she was acting chief executive of the New Zealand Qualifications Authority and held that position until May 2006. From 2006 to 2011, when she retired, she was Secretary for Education and chief executive of the Ministry of Education.In 2012, Sewell was appointed chair of the board of Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu ; her term in that role ended in 2019. She was an advisor to the Minister of Education, Hekia Parata, on schooling in Christchurch following the 2011 Christchurch earthquakes.