LaTonia G. Karr ’92, a San Francisco-based social worker, has been elected as the newest member of the Stanford Board of Trustees. She will assume her five-year term on Feb. 1.

Karr is the vice chair of the board of directors of the Meritus College Fund, a nonprofit that focuses on scholarships, mentoring, and coaching for low-income students hoping to matriculate at a four-year college.

She earned her undergraduate degree at Stanford in economics, went on to Kidder, Peabody & Co. and graduated from Harvard Business School in 1997.

After receiving her MBA, Karr worked at Credit Suisse First Boston for four years, but invested more of her time in philanthropic efforts as her career progressed.

She also works with KIPP: Bay Area Schools, a constituent of the national network of preparatory schools that targets underserved communities, as well as The Hamlin School, a San Francisco-based K-8 school for girls.

“In addition to her service on the Meritus College Fund, Tonia brings a depth of experience and a personal commitment to improving K-12 education that will be invaluable to her board service,” said Steven A. Denning, chair of the Board of Trustees. “We welcome her to the Board of Trustees.”

Her ties to Stanford stayed strong over the years. In 2012, she was a co-chair for the Class of 1992’s 20th reunion and also served as a member of the Stanford Challenge’s K-12 Initiative’s advisory council. She has worked with the admissions program and, with her husband, oversees the Karr Family Scholarship Fund, which provides fellowships at Stanford.

– Aaron Sekhri