Danialle Karmanos

In 2018, Karmanos received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Hellenic American University.

Since 2017, Karmanos has served on the board of trustees at Detroit Country Day School, a K-12 college preparatory school located in Oakland County, Michigan.

Karmanos and her husband, Peter Karmanos Jr., established the Karmanos Center for Natural Birth at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan in 2015. The Karmanos Center for Natural Birth offers a supportive, home-like environment for expectant mothers looking for a safe, natural childbirth experience with leading training and research.

Karmanos hosts Karma Has Spoken, a podcast featuring intimate conversations with dynamic leaders and innovators inside her vintage trailer, "Lucy." Karmanos has been a mom's columnist for Styleline Magazine and a guest blogger for Metromodemedia.com. She is the author of the hardcover book about her husband entitled, Pete Karmanos – A Life in Progress.

Karmanos was elected to the Wayne State University Board of Governors and served from 2011 to 2013. She was named by Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm to serve on the Michigan Film Office Advisory Council in 2008. Karmanos currently serves on the board of trustees for the College for Creative Studies, the Board of Directors for the Michigan Opera Theatre and is a founding member, board member and former Chair of the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit. Karmanos is also a member of the Leadership Advisory Board of the A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute at the University of Michigan and serves on the Board Development Committee of the Girl Scouts of Southeastern Michigan.

Karmanos has also received numerous awards for her community service, philanthropy and contributions to the metropolitan Detroit community. She received the American Heart Association's "Cor Vitae Award" for community service; The Matilda R. Wilson Award from Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeastern Michigan; the MBPA Women and Leadership's "Distinguished Leadership Award for Philanthropy;" and the Greater Wayne County Chapter of The Links' "Innovator in Health and Wellness" award. In 2007, Karmanos was named to Crain's Detroit Business' "40 Under 40" list of young achievers in recognition of her career achievements.

In 2005, Karmanos founded Kids Work It Out (KWIO), a groundbreaking organization that employs a Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) approach – including yoga, mindful breathing and nutritional education – to help children reduce anxiety, prevent obesity and increase self-esteem. Featuring an innovative 12-week, one-hour session structure, KWIO has helped more than 16,500 children across Metro Detroit live healthier and happier lives by providing them with the tools they need to make healthy choices. Today, KWIO is a core program of the Wayne State University Center for Health and Community Impact and continues to successfully deliver on the promise of driving improved child health and happiness in Metro Detroit and beyond.

From 2002 to 2005, Karmanos produced and directed concept car reveals for North American International Auto Show. In 2006, she wrote, co-produced, and directed the award-winning "I Am Detroit" for Compuware Corporation.

Karmanos played soccer on an academic scholarship at Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism, graduating with honors, from Wayne State University in 1999. In 2019, Karmanos completed the "Making Change" program at Harvard Divinity School.

Karmanos was an auto show narrator for Acura from 1997 to 1999 and Chrysler Corporation from 1999 to 2002.

Danialle Karmanos (born May 10, 1973) is a Michigan philanthropist, humanitarian, activist, and social entrepreneur. In 2017, Karmanos founded The Cuddlers, a volunteer-based movement started at Children’s Hospital of Michigan to cuddle and comfort hospitalized infants and children. Karmanos received an honorary doctorate from Hellenic American University and studied change-making at the Harvard Divinity School.