Karen Plucinski

Education

Ph.D. in Wildlife Ecology, University of Maine

M.S. in Zoology, University of Montana

B.S. in Zoology, University of New Hampshire

Biography

… is the Assistant Director and Instructor of the Advanced Inquiry Program, Project Dragonfly. Prior to this, she was on the biology faculty at Missouri Southern State University and Defiance College for over 22 years, teaching general ecology, field zoology, mammalogy, and conservation biology. Karen received a Ph.D. in Wildlife Ecology from the University of Maine, an M.S. in Zoology from the University of Montana, and a B.S. in Zoology from the University of New Hampshire. Hiking in the White Mountains of New Hampshire at an early age stimulated her biophilia. She also has experience in informal science teaching and facilitating citizen science as a Wildlife Biologist at Great Plains Wildlife Institute in Jackson, Wyoming. Among some of her favorite courses to teach have been those that include field components such as Ecology of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, Southwestern Desert Ecology, and one of the Belize courses for Earth Expeditions the last three summers. She resides in Fairfield, Ohio, with her husband Mark and enjoys running, cycling, hiking, and wildlife watching in her free time.