Karen
Floyd

Karen is a student of the world and has been quoted for “giving women their voice and not being the echo.”

Born in Houston, Texas, the daughter of a petroleum geologist, Karen grew up with large stints overseas, spending significant time in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. From Notre Dame she passed the French baccalaureate at age 16 in the subject of Philosophy and Writings. She later received her bachelor’s degree at Goucher College in Maryland where she chaired the academic honor system. Karen went on to earn her juris doctorate from the University of South Carolina School of Law, where she was president of the Student Bar Association. She speaks Arabic and French and understands multiple other languages.

Karen passed the bar at age 23 and entered the world of litigation, prosecuting cases of child abuse and rape. She then embarked on a successful legal career, becoming a law partner at the age of 25. Her abilities were recognized by the South Carolina Legislature, which led her to becoming the first and youngest chief magistrate in the state’s history. During her tenure, she was recognized for her efficiencies in reducing a sizable backlog of cases for the state’s 7th Judicial Circuit.

As the turn of the millennium approached, Karen founded The Palladian Group, a collection of businesses that include marketing, public affairs, development, and other ventures.

Karen is well known for a series of “firsts.” She became the first woman elected chair of Spartanburg County Council – an at-large seat for South Carolina’s fourth-largest county – and the first and only woman to serve as chair of the South Carolina Republican Party. She is touted for the recruitment of then-state House member Nikki Haley to run for governor and then-state House member Tim Scott to run for congress. Karen oversaw the largest gain of Republican legislators in the state’s history with “the Drive for Seventy-Five” and won all statewide constitutional offices.

Approaching the age of 45, Karen began thinking about legacy – and of the scores of women around the world she had met in her personal and professional life who, though accomplished, influential, and powerful, struggled with a sense of disconnectedness.

She conceived and founded ELYSIAN, an international luxury lifestyle brand for women over 35, with the first issue of the quarterly print magazine launching in 2015. The brand has steadily evolved over its first decade, hosting events around the world to restore that much-needed connection for passionate, self-actualized women. ELYSIAN’s mantra, “Women Inspiring Women,” is reflected in the hundreds of longform interviews Karen has conducted for the magazine’s signature Inspiring Women features.

Karen’s ambitions, heart and interests continue to span the globe. Since launching ELYSIAN Impact, the brand’s philanthropic arm, she has raised and disbursed more than $16 million, often to causes that have a national or international reach, or to localized efforts whose models can be templated and replicated on a national or global scale. ELYSIAN Impact’s philanthropy is focused on women, children, the environment, those who serve, and animal welfare.

Most recently, Karen served as executive producer and director of two award-winning documentary films.

The first, CatWalk FurBaby, details the yearlong journey that led to an inaugural pet-and-person fashion show by the same name. CatWalk FurBaby kicked off New York Fashion Week in the spring of 2023, bringing together ten designers, ten models and ten animal rescues for a spectacular fashion and fundraising event.

In the summer of 2024, Karen traveled to Ukraine, collecting interviews with amazing, resolute women whose lives have been irrevocably changed by the Russian invasion. Fight for Ukraine: 12 Women’s War documents these stories and has been lauded with awards at numerous international and national film festivals. Karen made a subsequent trip to Ukraine for a follow-up documentary, currently in production.

Karen lives in South Carolina with her husband, Gordon. They have twin adult sons and three grandchildren.