Karen has a Bachelor of Social Science with Honours in International Development and Globalization from the University of Ottawa, Canada, and a Master’s with Distinction in International Human Rights Law from the University of Essex, UK. As the Coordinator of the Essex Human Rights Clinic’s Corporate Accountability Programme, she was responsible for a large team that promoted human rights-based management of oil, gas and minerals through legal research and action. Since beginning her career with the Canadian International Development Agency in 2007, she has also consulted for the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, and the International Training Centre of the International Labour Organization.
Her research on the human rights of future generations in relation to the extractive sector was nominated for an Innovating Justice Award by The Hague Institute for the Internationalisation of Law, and was the subject of her work as an UNRISD Visiting Research Fellow in 2014. Two blogs on the subject were featured in the
Oxford Human Rights Hub anthology,
Global Perspectives on Human Rights. She is specialized in inclusive and sustainable development, particularly with regards to economic, social and cultural rights, and is currently engaged as a Research Analyst on the project
Linking Social Protection and Human Rights.