Karen Lee Yoder, who served as the director of athletics and physical education at Cal Poly Maritime Academy from 2020-26, is the Cal Pac Athletics Director of the Year. The award is selected by a vote of the Directors of Athletics in the conference.

"Our ADs recognize excellence and Karen's efforts and work this year truly stood out to her peers," said Dr. Don Ott, the Cal Pac commissioner. "Her passionate service on behalf of her staff and the Keelhauler cadets – and really all the student-athletes in our conference – accomplished great things for us all."

Yoder served with distinction as the conference's representative to the NAIA's important National Administrative Council, the de facto governing body of the Association. Her work as part of the important Championships committee helped shape the postseason experiences for each of the NAIA's 29 championships. Additionally, Cal Maritime was one of just a handful of NAIA institutions nationwide which achieved a perfect score on the Champions of Character national review.

Yoder's impact on the conference and with the Keelhaulers was significant, especially during the recent transition year as varsity sports were phased out at the school. She was instrumental in building a pathway for Cal Maritime to extend its varsity athletics program for the 2025-26 season while other state institutions were cutting programs. Additionally, she spearheaded the highly successful Cal Pac men's and women's basketball championships in partnership with the athletics department of Cal Poly SLO. Six men's and six women's hoops teams descended on the Vallejo campus for the ten-game, four-day championship extravaganza which launched the Cal Pac champs on to NAIA nationals.

Yoder, now serving as the AD of Solano Community College and as the Commissioner of the Western State Conference, has a knack for building programs that align the athletics department with the institutional missions, and doing so with excellence.

She played collegiate softball at New Mexico, coached at UC Davis and CSU Hayward (when the Pioneers were in the Cal Pac), and saw that program inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2024. She is the first ADOTY recipient from Cal Maritime since Marv Christopher in 2012.