Karen is a Lecturer of Health and Physical Education in the Faculty of Education on Monash Peninsula campus. Her research interests lie in gender, sexuality, place, health, and teaching pedagogies. She gained her PhD from the University of Wollongong in 2006 via an exploration of the ways in which sexual identity and place may be considered mutually constitutive.

Karen is an experienced health and physical education teacher, lecturer and professional presenter having held teaching positions at the University of Sydney, Ottawa University and University of Western Sydney. She is keen to establish a strong professional profile in Victoria by exploring the ways in which pedagogical change associated with the Australian Curriculum is being taken on board and implemented at all levels of teaching. As a keen pedagogist, environmentalist and creative thinker Karen is eager to explore the ways in which health and movement education can be sustainable and socially just, as well as transportable into the Asia-Pacific region.

Karen's research interests lie in:

• gender and sexualities studies
• place and sense of place
• qualitative research methods
• poetic forms of representation
• youth health
• HPE curriculum policy
• HPE teaching pedagogies

Karen is influenced by the work of Judith Butler and engages with queer theory and poststructural feminist theory on a daily basis. Karen is also a keen pedagogist with an interest in the ways in which we teach 'difficult' knowledge (sensitive issues) in schools, and also in how teachers turn curriculum policy into classroom practices.

EDF2071 Interdisciplinary approaches to health and physical education

EDF3073 Health, wellbeing and sustainability

EDF4804 Senior secondary health education

Karen is a keen and active volunteer for animals, vegetables and disadvantaged youth. She has had the following volunteering experiences during extended periods of travel in 2008 and 2010

• Botshobelo school and orphange (South Africa)
• Merazonia animal refuge (Equador)
• IntiWari Yasi animal refuge (Bolivia)
• Travellers not Tourists school (Peru)
• WWOOFER (Hawaii, Spain)
• Jhongli English Village (Taiwan)
• Elephant Nature Park (Thailand)

Association of Independent Schools NSW (2014, 2018)

Hudson International (2014)

Teacher Training Australia (2013-2015)