Karen E. Sutherland

Dr Karen Sutherland is a Senior Lecturer in Strategic Communication at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Australia, Director and Co-Founder of Dharana Digital, an AI consulting and digital marketing agency, and Co-Director of the Queensland AI Hub Sunshine Coast Chapter.

Her research into AI adoption, quality control and professional confidence in strategic communication spans eight countries and draws on data from more than 400 survey respondents and 41 expert interviews. She sits on both the Sunshine Coast Council AI Taskforce and the University of the Sunshine Coast AI Taskforce.

Karen is the author of Artificial Intelligence for Strategic Communication (Palgrave Macmillan), used in more than 20 countries, Strategic Social Media Management: Theory and Practice (Springer), winner of the 2022 Book Excellence Award in the Social Media category, and co-author of Public Relations and Strategic Communication (Oxford University Press). She is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Her awards include the 2021 DASSH Award for Education, Innovation and Employability and the 2020 Social Media Marketing Institute Best Social Media Educator of the Year.

Karen has delivered keynotes, workshops and AI training across three continents including at the Shusha Global Media Conference (Azerbaijan), and industry events across Australia, New Zealand, India, the UK and the USA.

She writes, teaches and consults on one question: how do professionals use AI well, without losing what makes their work human?