Lessons in Entrepreneurship
Karen Castles Gray's gift is intended to inspire women entrepreneurs.
This story is featured in the summer 2016 issue of 360: The Magazine of San Diego State University.
Karen Castles Gray’s connection to San Diego State University dates to her son Alexander’s enrollment in the College of Business Administration two years ago. The New York-based business owner was impressed with SDSU’s entrepreneurship curriculum and the closely aligned programs created and run by the Lavin Entrepreneurship Center.
She became a member of the college’s advisory board of directors, and this year, she pledged $250,000 to endow the Karen Castles Gray Women in Entrepreneurship Lecture. Organized through the Lavin Center, this annual event will bring leading entrepreneurs to campus.
Invited speakers for the inaugural lecture series include Nancy Brinker, founder of Susan G. Komen, and Lonnie Ali, wife of Muhammad Ali and manager of his business enterprises.
Castles Gray is president and creative director of Authentic Lifestyle Products, which designs and manufactures apparel, footwear and accessories. It was a career she dreamed of as a young girl in North Carolina. Her father owned a shoe store, but Castles Gray was far more interested in clothing.
She relocated to New York, sought out one of the largest collegiate apparel manufacturers, and became a designer for them by refusing to take “no” for an answer. Eventually, she secured collegiate licenses for all universities in the SEC and ACC conferences, becoming a pioneer in the trendy Ath Leisure Wear segment of the clothing industry.
“To be successful, you have to believe in yourself,” she said. “Despite all the doors shutting and all the people who say you won’t make it, you persevere.”
Castles Gray is also making a gift of $210,000 to SDSU’s Guardian Scholars, a program for students exiting the foster care system. Those who meet SDSU’s academic requirements are eligible for personal, financial and academic support to help them earn college degrees.
“The Guardian Scholars program touches my heart because these students have chosen to see rejection as a challenge rather than as a defeat,” said Castles Gray.
