District Governor Bio

 

Karen Cendro had her Rotary moment before she became a Rotarian. Husband Mike had been a Rotarian for about ten years and was President Elect of his Rotary club. This meant attending the RI Conference in Bangkok. During the trip, they had the opportunity to participate in a water project in a small Cambodian village. That day changed how Karen saw the world. She was inspired by the cultural differences and comforted by the things in life that are consistent across cultures. The young children of the village were riding bicycles with straws in the spokes just like we did with baseball cards back in the day. Upon returning home, Karen immediately joined Rotary.

 

Passionate about working with youth, the Rotary Youth Exchange program felt right. She served as the Youth Services Chair for her club and the RYE District Outbound Coordinator. Karen and family have hosted students from Japan, Italy, Bolivia, Brazil and Peru. Karen served as President of the Rotary Club of Laguna Sunrise in 2018-19. During her term, the club focused on at risk youth. Thinking out of the box, the club created a community based Interact club at their local Teen Center.

 

Karen and her family live in Elk Grove, California where they enjoy cooking, gardening, golf, and friends. Karen and Mike’s son, Kevin, a RYLA alum, will graduate from Regis University in Denver, Colorado in the Spring of 2021. Mike and Karen continue to operate their janitorial franchising business and of course remain passionate Rotarians.