Headshot of Dr. Karen Bailey
Environmental Studies

Dr. Karen Bailey is an Assistant Professor in the Environmental Studies Program at the University of Colorado Boulder. She is a systems researcher interested in understanding how human-environment interactions impact human health and well-being and natural resources. Her work is focused in conservation landscapes and climate-vulnerable communities in Southern and East Africa and she is interested in sustainable livelihoods, wildlife conservation, global change, and coupled human natural systems. She also has a strong commitment to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) in environmental work and STEM more broadly.

AVʪ Interests

  • Environmental and ecological change
  • Social and environmental justice
  • Remote sensing and land-use change
  • Climate change and livelihoods

Honors & Awards

  • Outstanding Graduate Service Award - Department ofWildlife Ecology and Conservation at the University of Florida (2018)

  • Delores Auzenne Dissertation Award - University of Florida (2017)

  • Champions for Change Award -University of Florida (2015)

  • Spirit of Princeton Award - Princeton University (2008)

Recent Publications

  • Salerno, Jonathan, Krister Andersson, Karen M. Bailey, Tom Hilton, Kephania K. Mwaviko, Isaya Donald Simon, Claire Bracebridge, et al. “More Robust Local Governance Suggests Positive Effects of Long-Term Community Conservation.” Conservation Science and Practice, 2020. .

  • Bailey, Karen M., Michael D. Drake, Jon Salerno, Lin Cassidy, Andrea E. Gaughan, Forrest R. Stevens, Narcisa G. Pricope, Kyle D. Woodward, Henry Maseka Luwaya, and Joel Hartter. “Mapping Natural Resource Collection Areas from Household Survey Data in Southern Africa.” Applied Geography 125 (December 1, 2020): 102326. .

  • Bailey, Karen M., Nia Morales, and Milton Newberry. “Inclusive Conservation Requires Amplifying Experiences of Diverse Scientists.” Nature Ecology & Evolution, September 14, 2020, 1–2. .

  • Miriti, Maria N., Karen M. Bailey, Samniqueka J. Halsey, and Nyeema C. Harris. “Hidden Figures in Ecology and Evolution.” Nature Ecology & Evolution, July 27, 2020. .

  • Bailey, K. M., R. A. McCleery, and G. Barnes. (2019). The role of capital in drought adaptation among rural communities in Eswatini. Ecology and Society 24(3):8.

  • Bailey, K. M., McCleery, R. A., Barnes, G., & McKune, S. L. (2019). Climate-Driven Adaptation, Household Capital, and Nutritional Outcomes among Farmers in Eswatini.International Journal of Environmental AVʪ and Public Health,16(21), 4063.

  • Karen M. Bailey, Robert A. McCleery, Michael W. Binford & Christa Zweig (2015): Land-cover change within and around protected areas in a biodiversity hotspot, Journal of Land Use Science, DOI: 10.1080/1747423X.2015.1086905

  • Long, A. K., Bailey, K., Greene, D. U., Tye, C., Parr, C., Lepage, H. K., McCleery, R. A. (2013). Multi-scale habitat selection ofMus minutoides in the Lowveld of Swaziland. African Journal of Ecology, 51(3).

  • Martin, K., Bailey, K., Moravek, C., & Carlson, K. (2011). Taking the Plunge: California Grunion Embryos Emerge Rapidly withEnvironmentally Cued Hatching. Integrative and Comparative Biology, 51(1), 26–37.