Karen is Associate Director for the Center for Imaging Science and is an alumna of the College of Science, receiving her Ph.D. in Imaging Science in 1996, becoming the first woman to do so. Prior to RIT, she was a color scientist and area manager at Xerox for 20 years, volunteering with the Xerox Science Consultant Program, FIRST Lego League, and United Way Day of Caring. She also received the Rochester Business Journal's Forty Under 40 award.

Throughout the course of her career, she has been granted 25 patents in areas including color reproduction, skin tone mapping, and more. As she rose to the management level, her research branched out into areas including data visualization, gamification, and medication adherence.

She returned to RIT in August of 2019 as the Associate Director for the Center for Imaging Science. Karen’s responsibilities include helping with day-to-day operations, planning special events, prospective student outreach, and helping to guide students in the Center for Imaging Science’s Innovative Freshmen Experience class.