In terms of expertise,  Dr Karen Sutherland is:
- Winner of the Social Media Category of the Book Excellence Awards for her book, Strategic Social Media Management – Theory and Practice
- Winner of the 2021 DASSH Award for Education, Innovation & Employability.
- Winner of the Social Media Marketing Institute’s 2020 Best Social Media Educator of the Year Award for Australia and New Zealand. Karen has also won other awards and was a finalist in the Social Media Marketing Institute’s Best Social Media Educator of the Year Award 2019.
- Co-Founder and Social Media Specialist at Dharana Digital.
- A Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy in the UK.
- A marketing, communication and public relations professional with more than 20 years’ experience working with companies such as ABCTV,  Grundy Television, Fremantle Media International , The Australian Red Cross Blood Service and Monash University.
- An experienced provider of social media workshops, coaching and consulting to organisations within Australia and internationally including New York-based social enterprise, Thankful.Â
- Co-Author of Public Relations and Strategic Communication from Oxford University Press and sole author of Strategic Social Media Management: Theory and Practice due for international release by Palgrave Macmillan in August 2020.
- The Academic Ambassador for the Social Media Marketing Institute.
- A University graduate with four degrees (communication, marketing, film and TV) including a PhD focusing on social media.
- A Social Media Researcher with work published by a range of peer-reviewed journals and media outlets.
- A Senior Lecturer and the Program Coordinator of the Bachelor of Communication (Social Media), social media major and social media minor at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia.
- Regularly invited to speak about social media at industry events and provide expert commentary to the media.
Dr Karen’s passion is providingÂ
simple and effective social media solutions
to business and nonprofits
without the jargon.Â
Dr Karen’s formal qualifications include:
- PhD –  Monash University – Towards an Integrated Social Media Communication Model for the Not-For-Profit Sector: A Case Study of Youth Homelessness Charities.
- Master of Marketing (with Merit) –Â University of Newcastle.
- Postgraduate Diploma of Arts (Research) – Monash University.
- Bachelor of Communication – Monash Universty.
Dr Karen’s approach to social media is best described as:
- Continuing conversations that convert.
- Long-term customer relationships.
- Social media and offline interactions as one blended customer experience.
Dr Sutherland is keen to assist all types of businesses and non-profit organisations to improve their social media performance.
