Karen was born in Trieste and raised in a bilingual home in Rome. She spent the first twenty years of her life in Italy. She attended Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, receiving both her BA and MA degrees in Italian Literature. She then continued her graduate studies in Italian at UCLA where she earned her Ph.D. Italian. Karen has always been passionate about all things Italian and about teaching the language that she loves. During her extensive career, Karen has taught at Vassar, UCLA, USC, Occidental College and Pasadena City College. She also taught accredited Italian grammar, literature and film classes at UCLA Extension for twenty years.
