Karen Kalumuck (Vice President)

An Ohio native, Karen earned her Ph.D. in Genetics and Molecular Biology at Rice University in Houston.  She conducted research on the biology of human genetic disease before getting the “teaching bug”, and has been a college professor in Minnesota and California. Her real passion is making science engaging and exciting for the non-specialists, be it children or adults. For 20 years she worked as a Staff Scientist at the Exploratorium in San Francisco, where she trained classroom teachers and staff, presented public programs, consulted on exhibits, and provided scientific oversight of exhibitions and programming.   Karen is an alum of the FFMR naturalist class of 2015, and earned a California Naturalist credential in 2019.  In addition to being a steward for the Marine Reserve, she and her husband Rob enjoy travel, exploring the local coast, hanging out with friends, and playing with their two dogs and two cats.   One of her favorite tide pool animals is the sea urchin – she and Rob met while they were each conducting cell biology research using urchins as a model organism.