Karen King is the senior communications manager for the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams at Michigan State University. She provides communications leadership, oversight, and guidance and manages all communication activities in support of establishing FRIB as a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science user facility.

From weekly newspapers to a new DOE-SC nuclear physics user facility, Karen has worked over 20 years in communications, expanding her journalism training in writing and design to internal and external communications, strategic communications planning, website development, media relations, event planning, and social media outreach.

Before joining FRIB, Karen led communications for the Infrastructure Planning and Facilities (IPF) department at Michigan State University, where she built the team from the ground up and expanded communications with campus customers by establishing regular in-person outreach opportunities in addition to overhauling the unit’s website and implementing social media. She also enhanced internal communications through development of an intranet.

Prior to IPF, Karen worked for a handful of years in weekly newspapers in Michigan and Colorado, where she was involved in all facets of newspaper production – reporting, writing, editing, designing, and taking photos.

Karen is a 2001 graduate of Michigan State University with a BA in journalism.