At a Glance
Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong by James W. Loewen.
The Nature Conservancy, Alaska.
To be honest, it’s let my dog out. And not long after that I’m grabbing a glass of wine [she laughs].
Argentina.
I wouldn’t. Let ‘em be wild.
At a Glance
Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong by James W. Loewen.
The Nature Conservancy, Alaska.
To be honest, it’s let my dog out. And not long after that I’m grabbing a glass of wine [she laughs].
Argentina.
I wouldn’t. Let ‘em be wild.
Off the Cuff
aren King could’ve been whoever she wanted to be.
Though a high school aptitude test accurately predicted her career in advertising, she just as easily could have ended up a successful food entrepreneur with a line of artisan chutneys, or perhaps an interior designer tasked with outfitting a hot new art gallery.
Spawn Ideas’ President and CEO has worked on ground-breaking campaigns on a national scale for companies like Coca-Cola and General Mills and locally for the likes of GCI and the Alaska Railroad.
But she doesn’t just produce award-winning marketing. King, understandably, consumes it: likely alongside her favorite vintage of South American wine and her Australian Shepherd, Stormcloud.
Karen King: I’m a news junkie. I listen to a lot of podcasts: The Daily; This American Life; Smartless. I also love to travel. Wine galleries, art galleries. I love architectural design.
AB: Is there a skill you’re currently developing or have always wanted to learn?
King: I really like to write and edit. I know people who write [for a living] that send me their work to edit, and I’d sure like to be as helpful as I can be. And then I really like all kinds of design.
AB: What’s the most daring thing you’ve ever done?
King: Moving to Alaska. I did it during a crisis point in my life and it was a brave move—I didn’t think I would leave Minnesota. And I have zero regrets; I’ve experienced so many things that I never would have experienced in my life if I hadn’t made that bold move. And I really found out, too, that I kind of belong in the Pacific Northwest.
AB: Is there anything you’re superstitious about?
King: I am not a superstitious person. I don’t get it, honestly.
AB: What’s your favorite local restaurant?
King: Crush. I love the people and food at Crush, and think they do a really nice job—and have throughout the course of their chefs and history here in Anchorage.
King: Prince. I’m from Minnesota and I never saw Prince live.
AB: What’s your greatest extravagance?
King: One of them is travel… but I also really like clothes.
AB: What’s your best attribute and worst attribute?
King: I’ll start with my worst so I can leave on a high note: I’m impatient. I think my best attribute is being quick witted. And that’s not about being funny, it’s about being able to put seemingly disparate things together really quickly and think, act, or decide on your feet. 
