Discover Your Child's Bright Future
Karen Summerville helps parents, grandparents, and educators uncover the unique gifts within every child and teen.
Through her signature framework, The Parent GPS™, she empowers you to nurture their natural talents and chart their own path to a bright future.
Meet Karen Summerville
Karen Summerville is an accomplished career counselor with a Juris Doctor and over 25 years of experience, guiding more than 1,500 clients toward fulfilling careers by aligning their talents with their professional aspirations. Her deep insights into career alignment have enabled individuals to achieve both success and satisfaction, significantly impacting their professional and personal lives.
Karen innovatively extends her expertise into the realm of parenting as the creator of The Parent GPS™, a unique framework that empowers adults to foster the younger generation’s curiosity and discovery. Her approach highlights the importance of nurturing each child’s unique constellation of gifts, akin to navigating by the stars.
Drawing from her own experience as a parent of two professional athletes and inspired by the methods of ancient mariners who used the stars in the heavens to guide them through uncharted waters, The Parent GPS™ offers a modern-day map for discovering and developing each child’s individual constellation of gifts.
Karen is a sought-after speaker and author, known for her engaging seminars and impactful insights shared through The Parent GPS™ Newsletter.
A dedicated philanthropist, Karen actively supports organizations like the Safe Crossings Foundation, which provides essential counseling for grieving children and teens. Her commitment extends beyond professional guidance, touching lives through her contributions to the community and her deep understanding of the transformative impact of parental influence.
Karen’s Odyssey
Career Counselor and Mom
You are invited on a transformative journey, where the compass doesn’t just point north but guides parents toward unlocking the unique brilliance within their child.
With over twenty – five years as a career counselor, I’ve had the privilege of delving into the personal stories of hundreds of attorneys, unveiling the dichotomy between their public success and untapped passions.
Behind closed doors, these professionals, many lauded as Rising Stars and Super Lawyers, confided in me, revealing a narrative not often shared. Despite external success, they had never truly contemplated what brought them joy, pride, or a sense of fulfillment. This realization struck chords with clients from their twenties to sixties, prompting a reevaluation of their career choices.
Leaving my office at the end of the day, I transitioned from career counselor to the dynamic role of mother, and I applied the invaluable “lens of curiosity” developed through my counseling practice.
Raising two boys, I witnessed the profound impact of allowing them to explore their constellation of gifts. This lens guided me to discover my own boys’ unique gifts, notably their “deep gladness” found in the world of sports, particularly baseball.
In our home, the lessons learned from my clients resonated – I resisted nudging my boys into activities I understood but they didn’t necessarily enjoy.
My Son's Odyssey
Peter, my oldest, is a testament to the unexpected brilliance that emerges when children explore their talents and interests without constraints. Despite Peter’s declaration in middle school that he didn’t read books, he found his niche devouring the sports section of the Seattle Times and exploring computer science and playing baseball.
Fast-forward through a baseball scholarship and an unforeseen journey, Peter is now a Major League Advanced Game Coordinator for the San Diego Padres – a career that didn’t exist when he was in college. The position was in many ways created for his unique talents.
Peter’s once-unconventional story now stands as a testament to the reality that most future jobs for today’s youth are yet to be created.
Karen’s Background
A graduate of the University of Washington School of Law, Karen was a litigation partner in a downtown Seattle law firm before creating Legal Career Management.
While helping over fifteen hundred attorneys find “success and satisfaction”, Karen was also raising her two sons, now young adults.
Karen’s clients became the inspiration for parenting through a lens of curiosity – not expectation. Her sons’ laughter, dreams, and the genuine joy they found in their own interests became the cornerstone of her parenting perspective. Karen has left Legal Career Management, but not without taking the lessons she learned in a new direction as The Parent GPS™.
Her mission is to transform the way parents envision their children’s future.
Karen’s goal is to empower parents to navigate the uncharted course of their child’s potential and aspirations through speaking engagements and writing, including The Parent GPS™ Newsletter.
Let’s Illuminate Their Path Together!
Join The Parent GPS™ Newsletter and gain access to exclusive insights and actionable tips that help you actively engage in discovering and nurturing your child's unique constellation of gifts. Together, let's guide them towards a future brimming with potential.
Partner with The Parent GPS for Inspiring Events
Experience dynamic and insightful presentations that engage and resonate with parents and educators. I specialize in guiding audiences through a journey of discovery, helping each child unlock their unique constellation of gifts and prepare for a bright future.
You can reach The Parent GPS at (206)300-3306
