The business world, the free market movement, and countless lives have been forever changed by Karen Buchwald Wright, who passed away on October 15, 2025. Born on the Fourth of July in Mount Vernon, Ohio, Karen embodied the American spirit of entrepreneurship, liberty, and service throughout her extraordinary 71 years. On behalf of State Policy Network, we are grateful for her loyal support spanning nearly 15 years and her faithful service as a member of our board of directors.
As CEO and Chairman of Ariel Corporation from 2001 to 2021, Karen transformed her father’s basement startup into the world’s leading manufacturer of natural gas compressors. Under her visionary leadership, Ariel produced nearly 70,000 compressors shipped to over 100 countries, competing successfully against global giants while maintaining its family-owned character. With grace and elegance, she repeatedly proved that women could excel in the male-dominated energy sector, becoming a role model for aspiring women CEOs everywhere—though she would never boast of such accomplishments herself.
Karen’s leadership extended far beyond the boardroom. A former board member of State Policy Network, she was my mentor and dear friend, offering wisdom, encouragement, and unwavering support, for which I remain grateful.
Her commitment to advancing liberty and free markets earned her National Review’s 2018 William F. Buckley Jr. Prize for Leadership in Supporting Liberty, recognizing her as one of the most consequential conservative philanthropists of our time.
Her philanthropic legacy is equally profound. Through the Ariel Foundation, which she created, over $98 million has been invested in more than 700 local projects, transforming Mount Vernon, Ohio, from a town scarred by abandoned factories into a vibrant community. Beyond her hometown, Karen gave generously to education, cancer research, and historic preservation—including the Karen Buchwald Wright Reading Room at George Washington’s Mount Vernon, Virginia, a place dear to her heart.
Even while battling cancer’s return after an earlier victory, Karen led with integrity, courage, and heart. She never let her illness diminish her fierce commitment to her four sons—Alex, Andrew, Sam, and the late Hunter, who predeceased her in 2021 after his own brave fight with cancer.
Karen is survived by her husband Tom, her mother Maureen, her sons, grandchildren, and the countless lives she touched through her business acumen, generous spirit, and fierce dedication to liberty. Her birth on Independence Day ingrained reverence for America as a gift to us all—and she was herself a rare gift to America.
Her legacy will endure first and foremost as a mother who loved her family, a powerful example for other working moms. From that firm foundation, her impact endures in the vital natural gas compressors that power our world, as well as in the institutions she strengthened, the hometown she revitalized, and the people she mentored along the way.
It is not often in your career, or in life, that you have the opportunity to learn from incredible role models. I remain grateful for all that Karen taught me as a mother, a leader, a philanthropist, and an engaged American. She ran her race well, fought the good fight, and gifted us all a powerful legacy of leadership.
—Tracie Sharp, Senior Strategic Advisor, State Policy Network