Karen Swensen Retirement, Bio, Wiki, Age, Husband, Daughter, Salary, and Net Worth

Karen Swensen Bio | Wiki

Karen Swensen is an American former Journalist. She most recently served as an anchor at WWL-TV ( CBS Affiliate). While she worked as a journalist, Karen won six Edward R. Murrow regional awards for her investigative journalism, writing, and feature reporting. She also holds several Gracies and Gabriel Awards, and Associated Press and Press Club Awards.

In 2012, Karen was honored to be the first grand marshal of the Krewe of Nyx. After six years, it had grown into the largest parade in Mardi Gras history. When Katrina hit and during its immediate aftermath. Karen was the only female anchor at WWL to report from New Orleans WWL-TV earned broadcast journalism’s most prestigious awards for its continuous coverage of the hurricane.

Those awards were, The George Foster Peabody Award,  duPont-Columbia Award, and Edward R. Murrow Award. Also, Karen spent almost five years in Boston serving as a morning anchor at NECN. While there, she wrote and also produced several documentaries, such as “Katrina: A Flood of Tears.” The document premiered at Harvard University and Karen moderated a panel discussion on the storm afterward.

 

Karen Swensen's photo
Swensen’s photo

Karen Swensen Age

She was born in the United States of America. Karen celebrates her birthday on March 2 every year.

Karen Swensen Height

She is a woman of above-average stature. Karen stands at the height of 5 ft 7 in ( Approx 1.7m).

Karen Swensen Family

She was born to her father and mother in the United States of America. Despite being a public figure, Karen has managed to maintain a low key about her parents and siblings.

Karen Swensen Husband | Ronquillo

She was married to her late husband John Patrick Ronquillo. The couple wedded in the early 2000s. John lost his life to cancer on September 4, 2018, at the age of 64. He came from New Orleanian and his family’s roots date to the 1700s. The couple tied the knot and celebrated their wedding in St. Louis Cathedral in presence of their family, and friends. Karen and John were later blessed with a baby girl named Catherine and a  son called Matthew.

Karen Swensen Daughter

During her free time, Karen spends a lot of time with her daughter, Catherine. Her daughter is the source of her pride and joy, Catherine was Karen’s inspiration for writing her children’s book titled Catherine the Great and her Teatime Tagalongs.

Karen Swensen Education

She graduated from Penn State University  Phi Beta Kappa with an Honor degree in Political Science and a minor in Spanish.  Karen also holds a Master’s Degree in Journalism from the same university. In 2017, Karen was given an honorary doctorate by the University of Holy Cross. Additionally, she earned a fellowship at the Institute of Politics at the Loyola University of New Orleans.

Karen Swensen Life’s About Change

Apart from anchoring news, Karen is also the creator and founder of a seasonal t-shirt company called “Life’s About Change.” The company is featuring a character named Delta as his mantra encourages people to embrace change. Karen has donated the company’s profits, nearly $20,000, to cancer research institutes. She remains committed to finding a cure in memory of her late husband, John.

Karen Swensen Retirement

She found out that she had a benign tumor shortly after she was married in the early 2000s. The tumor would likely cost her the chance to have children. However, Karen was able to achieve that goal with her husband John Ronquillo through medical advances. John was a veteran and well-liked New Orleans police officer. Karen went through the trauma of Hurricane Katrina, in 2005 reporting from New Orleans. During that time, her young daughter was evacuated and her husband served the public at the Superdome where human despair was on display.

Karen lost her family’s home during the hurricane. Following the hurricane, Karen and her family moved to Boston where she became an anchor on a station’s morning show. However, the lure of New Orleans brought her back to WWL-TV in 2011 and the elation of their return soon changed. She left the journalism field in 2022 to focus on her own company called Life’s About Change. It sells products made by people who have changed their lives. All of the products made by her company are American-made.

Karen Swensen New Orleans | Wwl Tv

Karen and her late husband relocated to New Orleans in early 2011 and replaced Lucy Bustamante at WWL-TV who took an anchor position at WWL-TV’s sister station based in Norfolk, Va, where her husband served in the U.S. Navy. Karen launched her career in broadcasting by working at WWL-TV as their newsroom associate producer. She first anchored overnight news updates and then became the channel’s part-time reporter and anchor.

Her many years at WWL-TV included stints as the inaugural anchor of the station’s “Early Edition” 5 a.m. newscast, and two years serving as a weekend co-anchor. Also, Karen worked for five years as a 10 p.m. co-anchor. She worked for WWL-TV for the first time and left the channel in 2006 for a morning anchor position at New England Cable News in Boston, Karen rejoined the channel in 2010 as its 10 p.m. anchor and reporter.

At the same time, she became the 9 pm newscaster on WUPL-TV.  Her major assignment was to cover Hurricane Katrina. Before that, Karen covered the New Orleans Saint’s Super Bowl win for the Boston network, she even traveled to the city to cover the euphoric celebrations. She left journalism in early 2022 to start her own company.

Karen’s colleagues at CBS included:

 Shaley Sanders-reporter

Brooke Wagner-anchor

Keahi Tucker-anchor

Mahealani Richardson-anchor

Alyssa Ivanson-anchor

Don Postles-anchor

Melanie Orlins-anchor

Danielle Uliano-Meteorologist

Carolina Leid-anchor

Karen Swensen Hoda Kotb

Hoda Kotb is an Egyptian American anchor and reporter, television personality, and also an author.  Currently, she serves as the main co-anchor of the NBC News morning show Today as well as the co-host of its entertainment-focused fourth hour. Before that, Hoda served as a correspondent for the television news magazine program titled Dateline NBC. Karen and Hoda are great friends. The two are #friendgoals!

In 2019, Hoda took to social media to celebrate Karen’s birthday. The two tv personalities have known each other since 1994. Karen and Hoda met each other while they were both working at WWL-TV, a CBS affiliate based in New Orleans. Hoda served as an anchor while Karen worked as a researcher.

Karen Swensen Husband Cancer

John Ronquillo was a former New Orleans Police Department detective. He began working for the NOPD after graduating from Tulane University. At the university, John played football on a scholarship and rose to the ranks of team co-captain. Also, John was a three-sport athlete at De La Salle High School located in New Orleans and graduated in 1972.

Later, he was inducted into the school’s hall of fame. After his retirement from the Police department, John joined the staff of the Jefferson Parish District Attorney’s Office as their investigator. John lost his life to cancer on September 4, 2018, at the age of 64

Karen Swensen Net Worth

She accumulated a lot of wealth from her journalism career and this wealth has been growing significantly well. Karen has an estimated net worth of $2,679,442

How Old Is Karen Swensen

Karen celebrates her birthday on March 2 every year but her exact age is not publicly known

Who Is Karen Swensen

Karen is an American former Journalist. She most recently served as an anchor at WWL-TV ( CBS Affiliate). While she worked as a journalist, Karen won six Edward R. Murrow regional awards for her investigative journalism, writing, and feature reporting.

Is Karen Swensen Married

She was married to her late husband John Patrick Ronquillo. The couple wedded in the early 2000s. John lost his life to cancer on September 4, 2018, at the age of 64. Karen and John were later blessed with a baby girl named Catherine and a  son called Matthew.

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