Tom Tolen / news@whmi.com

Karen Storey, who has been an educator in the Brighton Area Schools for her entire professional career, will be retiring at the end of December. She is currently the multi-tiered system of support facilitator at Maltby Intermediate School and her last official day as a BAS employee will be Dec. 31st. But while she’ll be ending one career, she will be embarking on an entirely new one.

On January 6th, Karen will start work for the Greater Brighton Area Chamber of Commerce. According to Chamber CEO and President Gavin Johnson, Storey will assume the position of chamber membership director.

Johnson says hiring Storey at the chamber was an easy choice. “Karen and I have known each other for years and we work extremely well together,” Johnson says, adding that, "Karen has great connections and loves her community, she’s dedicated, she has great fundraising ability - she’s a perfect fit.”

Storey is perhaps best known for starting the Pack of Dog therapy dog program in the Brighton Area Schools that has since become a national model for such endeavors. Storey says she’s “thrilled to begin this new journey," fostering connections and playing an even more significant role in the community. Storey's passion is evident, and her chamber office will feature artifacts that reflect her deep love for her hometown.

Karen is married to Scott Storey, also a Brighton teacher, and the couple has four sons - Easton, a twin, who plays baseball at Purdue University while studying business; fellow twin Jack, who plays football for Eastern Michigan University while studying special education; Anthony, a Brighton High School freshman; and Leo, a student at Hilton Elementary.

Coinciding with Karen’s arrival at the chamber will be her introduction of Macy, a therapy dog gifted by Brighton Area Schools Board of Education Trustee Andy Storm and his family. Macy will become the chamber’s official therapy dog - available to both members and sponsors alike.

Major chamber sponsors will even have their business names emblazoned on Macy’s vest. She will attend local events, ribbon-cutting ceremonies and other chamber activities, embodying the chamber’s mission: "Your Chamber, Your Business, Our Community." Storey says confidently that, “Macy will make a difference, one paw at a time.”

Asked why she joined the chamber team, Storey says that the majority of the reason is that, “Gavin Johnson is the new CEO and president of the Brighton Chamber and is a leader who dedicates 110% to making a difference and bettering our community. Having worked with retired superinendent Greg Gray, I’ve learned the importance of leadership that’s rooted in trust, collaboration and taking care of people. Gavin and I share that vision, and I’m excited to build on that foundation at the chamber.”


It’s not everybody who gets written into the Congressional Record, but Storey accomplished just that last year. Congresswoman and US Senator-elect Elissa Slotkin placed into the permanent document the story of the Brighton Pack of Dogs and the many lives they have impacted. In it, Slotkin cited the many times the Brighton Area Schools therapy dogs have come into a highly-charged situation - such as the aftermath of the Oxford High School fatal shooting of four students and wounding of seven others in November of 2021. The Pack of Dogs has also been present to comfort students impacted by other tragedies, among them the February shootings of three Michigan State students, in which three students were killed and five others injured.

Storey can be reached at karens@brightoncoc.org. Once Macy is done with her training and is introduced in March, the therapy dog will also have her very own e-address: adogdidthat@brightoncoc.org.

Photos: 1) Storey, second from right, with husband Scott; Michele (BAS teacher); and John Krayer, at Oxford Schools with 5 dogs from the BAS pack; 2) Macy, a therapy dog in training, coming soon to the Greater Brighton Area Chamber of Commerce; 3) the chamber seal.