Before joining the Survey Center, Karen worked as a research assistant for the Office of Applied Gerontology at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where she was involved with a national randomized clinical trial and network analysis for the Alzheimer’s Association. She has several years of experience designing questionnaires, conducting telephone interviewing, data cleaning, and data analysis. She received her master of arts degree in sociology from UW-Milwaukee in 2010. Her graduate work focused on implementing research study protocol in non-profit organizations. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology and political science from UW-Milwaukee.