Our Team

Ocean Exchange Team

Karen Frost

Program Manager

Karen is responsible for global economic development activities and innovation programs for The Water Council.

Karen is responsible for global economic development activities and innovation programs for The Water Council. She leads three separate global innovation programs for the Council including a corporate-sponsored open innovation Tech Challenge, a post-accelerator program and a pilot program. She leads the organization’s international efforts and works closely with our European representative to serve partners and companies in Europe and beyond. Karen managed the program development, implementation and oversight of The Water Council’s U.S. Small Business Administration Regional Innovation Cluster Contract from 2015-2020and is active in the execution of The Water Council’s 2023 NSF engine development award for Water and Energy Resiliency for Manufacturers and Utilities. She is an experienced connector and strong relationship builder and collaborator with the small business community, project partners and funders.

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Ocean Exchange invites you to learn more about Awards Program, our ecosystem and success of our award winners and participants. Together, we can chart a powerful course to help ensure the future of our oceans and the Blue Economy.

“Ocean Exchange has a platform to enable people with information that they need to know about the ocean and then to showcase new technologies that are on the forefront of really helping the ocean and the planet.”

“The quality of the content and the people who are involved with Ocean Exchange is all high end.”

“Besides funding, Ocean Exchange provides access to a wide area network of incredibly talented people in organizations that really do just want to help people.”

“Ocean Exchange is really about helping the little guys grow and in so doing, helping the big guys be better ocean citizens.”

“Ocean Exchange seems to be much more focused on bringing to light under-capitalized, wonderful new technology ideas. And it’s all about two-way access to this new technology and to the people who can help with the experience to grow that technology.”

“Ocean Exchange is a force multiplier to enable sustainable innovation.”

“Ocean Exchange is a global, novel innovation forum that has a greater ability to attract a broader range of impactful stakeholders than any other event that’s out there.”

“Unquestionably, one of Ocean Exchange’s primary strengths is how it brings together people from different paths. That makes its event a delegator experience as well as experience for an innovator or awards nominee.”

“Ocean Exchange is entirely different from any of the other organizations that I’m involved in. It is about sustainable innovation. I think it’s also very different in the extremely broad range of stakeholders that it involves.”

“There’s nothing better than going to an event or engaging with people so you walk away and say, ‘Wow!’”