About Karin M. Jacoby, PE, JD

Karin M. Jacoby received her bachelor of science degree in civil engineering from Missouri S&T in 1985 and joined Booker Associates in St. Louis as a design engineer. In 1995, feeling drawn to public works, she moved across Missouri to Kansas City, where she served as assistant city engineer and manager of waterways for 14 years. Karin earned a master of public administration and a juris doctorate, both from the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 1999 and 2006, respectively. She has spent most of her career in water resources, waterways, flooding and levees. She founded SPICA Consulting in 2009 as an engineering firm focused on flood risk management. In 2013, she began practicing law and now provides legal services to clients in the Midwest and South. Karin is involved in development of the nation’s policy on flood protection, serving as a member of the congressionally established National Committee on Levee Safety, and co-authoring with the National Academy of Sciences Levee Committee a report to FEMA with recommendations for the National Flood Insurance Program. Since 2001, Karin has been the executive director of the Missouri and Associated Rivers Coalition, a non-profit advocating for more beneficial use of water and related land resources. She received the Commander’s Award for Public Service from the Army Corps of Engineers and the Kansas City Industrial Council’s Progress Award for Improving Waterways. In 2005, the Kansas City Star named Karin “One of Five People to Watch.” She has addressed students in the CArE engineering department and in 2014 was the Chi Epsilon’s Chapter Honor Member. Karin is an avid fisherman and spends her time on Missouri’s spring-fed rivers.