Karen Powell, Ohio Northern University assistant professor of law, will speak about “Entrepreneurship in New Industries: American Revival of Craft Spirits” in the Dicke Forum on Wednesday, Nov. 4, at 6 p.m.

Prior to joining the faculty at the ONU Pettit College of Law, Powell founded Triple Divide Spirits, a craft distillery in Montana that produced locally sourced vodka, gin and rum with an onsite tasting room. She’ll speak to the process of entrepreneurship in new industries, challenges of a highly regulated field, and the learning curve of craft spirits, agricultural connections and regulators.

At ONU, Powell teaches in the area of tax law, and her scholarship focuses on state regulatory and tax matters. She also serves as a commissioner for the Uniform Law Commission, a national organization that promulgates a number of non-partisan, well-respected uniform laws, including the Uniform Commercial Code.

She is a certified mediator and has mediated civil cases for several years. Prior to teaching at ONU law, she was chair of the Montana Tax Appeal Board, the court of record for state tax matters. Appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Montana senate, she oversaw state tax trials for more than eight years.

Powell also has served as Montana’s deputy commissioner of securities and insurance, and she has litigated on behalf of the Montana Attorney General’s Office. She earned her law degree from Stanford Law School and her undergraduate degree from Wesleyan University.