Karen grew up in Portland, OR and attended Greater Portland Bible Church . As part of this church, she came to understand the power of the Word of God to transform people's lives and became passionate about the ministry of Bible Translation. Karen completed a college internship by working along side Wycliffe Bible Translators in Panama in the summer of 1997. She then attended Wycliffe's Summer Institute of Linguistics in 1998 and was accepted as a career member of Wycliffe Bible Translators in 2003. 

Since 1999, Karen has lived in the Rainier Valley of South Seattle, learning about urban/cross-cultural ministry as a strategy for missions. During this time, she built strong ties with people, working alongside individuals in churches, para-church organizations, on college campuses, and large businesses. Networking, with a passion for the Kingdom of God, is something that she loves and which comes naturally. For this reason, Wycliffe has invited Karen to fill the role of Ethnic Mobilizer in the Seattle area. Simply put, her role will be to inform people, who already have ties to other countries, of the need for Bible Translation as well as encourage and help equip churches and individuals to become involved in taking the Word of God to those who've never heard it. (For more info on Ethnic Mobilization , go to the FAQ .) 

This position will play a vital part in fulfilling Wycliffe's Vision 2025. The Vision 2025 goal is to have all the needed translation teams placed by the year 2025. There are just under 3,000 languages that do not have any portion of Scripture-and no one to translate it for them. These 3,000 languages, represent over 380 million people. This seems like an impossible task but with God's help and yours, it can be done.