Board Member

Karen Atkinson

Retired Army captain. 24 years in the Army Reserve, from hospital administrator to JAG officer. Since a 2014 car accident and a spinal cord injury, she has golfed standing up, skied, sailed and learned to dive, and she brings other veterans along.

  • Move United Warfighter Ambassador
  • First Chair, Stand Up and Play Foundation
  • AMP Adaptive Sports board
Read her story In the news
Karen Atkinson smiling outdoors
“Programs like these change my life. Normally, my life ends at the pavement.”Karen, on 29 News WVIR, February 2025
Karen Atkinson laughing in a sit ski at The Hartford Ski Spectacular, her name written on her blue bib, an instructor beside her
The Hartford Ski Spectacular, Breckenridge, December 2024. Photo: Move United
Karen Atkinson in a blue jacket on a sit ski at Sunday River, with Maine Adaptive instructors around her
Veterans No Boundaries at Sunday River, Maine, January 2026. Photo: Maine Adaptive Sports & Recreation
Her story

Off the pavement.

  1. The officer

    24 years in uniform

    Karen joined the Army Reserve at 17, while she was still in high school. The Army took her through college and law school: first as a hospital administrator, then as a JAG officer helping Guard and Reserve soldiers get their lives in order before they deployed. She deployed herself during Desert Storm, working in a hospital caring for soldiers. She retired as a captain.

  2. 2014

    The accident

    After she retired, a driver swerved into her lane. Her car hit gravel on the shoulder and rolled. The crash left her with a spinal cord injury, and today she uses a wheelchair. Because she was hurt after she retired, no veteran community came to find her. She spent six years finding her way on her own. Winters in Iowa got harder, so she moved to Florida, and found the water.

  3. The water

    Sailing, diving, skiing

    In Florida she found Warrior Sailing. In 2022 she trained as an adaptive scuba diver with the Dive Pirates Foundation, with her son Tanner as her dive buddy. She has water skied with AMP Adaptive Sports.

  4. Standing up

    Golf, in a VertaCat

    A VertaCat from the Stand Up and Play Foundation lifts her into a standing position to take a full swing. She went from receiving one to sitting first on the foundation’s board, and she is helping build its chapter in the Tampa Bay area.

  5. The snow

    Bringing veterans along

    As a Move United Warfighter Ambassador she skis at camps and clinics built for veterans: The Hartford Ski Spectacular in Breckenridge, Wounded Warriors Weekend with Wintergreen Adaptive Sports in Virginia, and Veterans No Boundaries with Maine Adaptive at Sunday River. She also started Vet Going, a Facebook group where veterans share adventure therapy they can try.

On TV

On camera, from Florida to the Blue Ridge.

On the air

With Ann Liguori on Sports Innerview.

Karen sat down with Ann Liguori for a 27-minute interview on WLIW 88.3 FM in September 2024.

  1. 14:20
    “I had to do the work to discover what’s available. Nobody brought it to me. I had to find it. And so for me, my passion now is to make sure that nobody else has those six years.”
  2. 15:40
    “I get to be a participant. I get to hit that ball. Not very well, but I can hit that ball. And that to me is everything. I am now an equal part of this foursome.”
  3. 17:35
    “You don’t have to be really good at wheelchair pickleball. You just have to show up and meet the other people, the other veterans who you didn’t know are going through the same thing that you’re going through every day.”
  4. 20:25
    “Anthony reached over and hit the button and I stood up to salute the flag for the first time in 10 years.”
  5. 23:05
    “Just ask them what they need. Don’t say no. Ask them what they need. … What can we do for you? How can we help you?”
Listen to the interview
Where she serves

Where Karen serves.

In the news and on air

Karen in the news.

What she’s building

Helping people find their sport.

Karen helps connect people with programs through Adaptive Sports Near Me. The free directory gives athletes, families, and referral partners somewhere to begin. It is in beta now, and Karen is signing up the testers.

Become a beta tester Donate
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