Karen Dannenbaum, an associate broker, has specialized in residential home sales in Topanga and the surrounding area for more than two decades. She is known for her personal ethics, patience, treating clients as if they were her next-door neighbors, knowledge about contracts and transactions and the ability to explain details in a clear, understandable way. A New York native who grew up on the East End of Long Island, Karen is a Regent's Scholar, and attended Suffolk County Community College, Brookhaven, New York, before graduating from the State University of New York at New Paltz with a Bachelor's degree in Geology and Art. Earlier in her career, she was a retail and restaurant manager, taught knitting and loom weaving and managed a hand-knit clothing manufacturer. She earned her real estate license in 1989 and broker's license in 2002. Dannenbaum is past director of the Malibu Association of Realtors, past treasurer of the Topanga Broker's Co-op and past treasurer of Boy Scout Troop 400, Pacific Palisades. She has been honored by the Topanga Enrichment Programs, Topanga Community Club and Topanga Town Council. The main focus of her recent volunteer work is helping to run a program that holds a monthly dinner for Topanga's seniors, chartered through the Canyon Sages, where she is known for her fabulous desserts, and has even had some dessert recipes published. Dannenbaum loves the outdoors, all of Topanga's parks, hiking with her dog, Maggie, and searching for wildflowers. She also loves bicycling and paints watercolors, specializing in nature.