Karen Bakker Obituary
Society
A scientist, entrepreneur, and author, I’m passionate about digital innovation, good governance, social justice, and environmental sustainability. After earning my PhD at Oxford University, where I studied as a Rhodes Scholar, I moved back home to Canada. I’m currently a Professor at the University of British Columbia and a Visiting Professor at the Harvard Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study Fellow. My work has become recognized by numerous awards. Including a Guggenheim Fellowship, and Stanford University’s Annenberg Fellowship in Communication.
The main focus of my research is the Smart Earth project, which explores how the tools of the Digital Age can pressing challenges of the Anthropocene, including climate change, biodiversity loss, and the Future of Work. Also the author of a dozen books. The most recent of which is “The Sounds of Life: How digital technology is bringing us closer to the worlds of animals and plants” (Princeton University Press, 2022). Which has become translated into seven languages, published in a dozen countries. And the winner of the 2023 Sigurd Olson Nature Writing Award. I’m also a serial social impact tech entrepreneur.
In addition, founded and led two tech companies as CEO, including one exit. I’m currently the VP Strategy for Riipen, a social impact tech company. Moreover, solving the skills gap by enabling online internships, focused on access for youth from underserved communities. Over the past six years Riipen enabled over 150,000 youth in over 9 countries, to access over 10 million learning hours, across all sectors.
Lastly, from Karen’s Linkedin Profile.
