Throughout her career, Karen Mikkelsen has been committed to improving the academic achievement of students with disabilities. A Senior Program Associate with WestEd's Northeast Regional Resource Center (NERRC) since 1980, Mikkelsen provides consultation, training, and facilitation services to special education agencies in New England, New Jersey, and New York. Funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), NERRC provides leadership and support to promote a quality education and a better life for children with disabilities and their families.

Mikkelsen’s services have been requested by school districts, community educator/service provider partnerships, and local interagency teams of providers and parents. She develops procedures and rebuilds relationships among team members so that they can work constructively toward shared purposes. Her work has resulted in new organizational structures and relationships for service providers and community organizations, products to assist providers, and skills to improve services. For example, Mikkelsen coauthored Keeping Quality Teachers: The Art of Retaining General and Special Educators in collaboration with personnel from the New York State Department of Education and other national organizations. She also developed a training program for volunteers to serve as educational surrogate parents.

Also at NERRC, Mikkelsen coordinates regional work groups involving representatives from state departments of education and the lead agencies for Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Work group members share expertise and develop collaborative solutions to common issues.

Prior to joining WestEd, Mikkelsen provided consultation, facilitation, training, and technical assistance services for state and local educational and human services agencies, as well as for consumer and advocacy groups. She has spent most of her career working with federally funded technical assistance and training programs, including the Northeast Regional Media Center for the Deaf, The California Area Learning Resource Center, and the California Regional Resource Center. Past results have included the development of a network for state institutions providing services to people with mental illness and the design of a learning laboratory for students with hearing impairments.

Her commitment to helping people with disabilities is also evidenced in her volunteer affiliations with the ARC of Vermont, United Way, The Center for Disabilities and Community Inclusion, and Vermont Coalition for Disability Rights.

Mikkelsen received an MEd from the University of Massachusetts.