Karl Schatz is the co-founder and Executive Director of Community Plate. He is an award-winning journalist and storyteller, who has worked at ABC Television, Time Magazine, Reuters and the Associated Press. Together with his wife and Community Plate co-founder, Margaret Hathaway, he has published seven books on food, farming, and community, including two volumes of the award-winning Maine Community Cookbooks. These books, plus 20 years developing a philosophy and practice around hospitality and community building, provided the inspiration and foundation for the creation of Story Sharing Potluck Suppers. Karl’s work with Community Plate has been featured on The TODAY Show, NBC Nightly News, NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday, and in print in The National Civic Review, The Boston Globe Sunday Magazine, The Maine Sunday Telegram, and The Chronicle of Philanthropy. In April 2025 he was named one of 25 innovators tackling the loneliness epidemic in 2025 by Reimagine’s Making Connections web series.