Karen Gaudette Brewer

Head of Content, Core Personal Finance

Expertise
  • Government and Public Policy, Core Personal Finance, Student Loans

How I Think About Money “One of the mantras I live by is stay ready so you don't have to get ready. It works well for just about everything in life, but especially your finances. Having a plan prevents impulsive decisions: you'll already know your next move.”
25+ Years of Experience
7 Articles Written
119K+ Readers Reached
Previous experience
  • Executive editor of HealthCentral at Remedy Health Media
  • Staff writer at The Seattle Times
  • Staff writer at The Associated Press
Education
  • B.A. in communication and political science with distinction, University of Washington
  • Oxford Study Abroad Programme
Organizations
  • Asian American Journalists Association
  • American Society of Journalists and Authors
  • Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing
Credentials
Poynter Institute Leadership Academy for Women in Media
Karen Gaudette Brewer leads the Core Personal Finance team at NerdWallet. Previously, she guided students and their families through the ins and outs of paying for college and managing student debt on the Higher Education team. Helping people navigate complex money decisions and feel more confident brings her great joy: as the daughter of an immigrant, from an early age she was the translator of financial documents and the person who called the credit card company to fix fraud.
She joined NerdWallet with 20 years of experience working in newsrooms and leading editorial teams, most recently as executive editor of HealthCentral. She launched her journalism career with The Associated Press and later worked for The (Riverside) Press-Enterprise, The Seattle Times, PCC Community Markets and Allrecipes.com.
She is a graduate of the 2022 Poynter Institute Leadership Academy for Women in Media. Her writing has been honored by the Society for Features Journalism and the Society of Professional Journalists. In addition, she’s the author of two books about the Pacific Northwest.

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