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Karen Oberhauser

Karen Oberhauser is the Director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum. She and her students have conducted research on several aspects of monarch butterfly ecology; this research depends on traditional lab and field techniques, as well as the contributions of a variety of audiences through citizen science. In 1996, she started a nationwide Citizen Science project called the Monarch Larva Monitoring Project (MLMP), which continues to engage hundreds of volunteers throughout North America. The MLMP and another flagship citizen science program with a strong monarch focus, Journey North, are key features of the growing citizen science programming at the UW-Madison Arboretum. Karen has authored over 90 papers on her research on monarchs, insect conservation, and citizen science. She has an undergraduate degree from Harvard University, a degree in science education from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a PhD in Ecology and Behavioral Biology from the University of Minnesota.