Karen Larson is vice president of product innovation and government affairs at Clarke and has more than 30 years’ industry experience in specialty vector control products, technology, and services. Having begun her career as a mosquito hunter and laboratory technician before coming to oversee all of Clarke’s product development and registrations, domestic and abroad, Karen knows well the needs and processes for stewarding specialty products from discovery to market entry. Karen earned her Master of Science in biological sciences from Northern Illinois University while studying wetland ecosystems and the effects of aggressive plant invaders on the invertebrate communities and has since applied an ecosystem view to innovation and design. Karen and her work team were awarded the Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award in 2010 for innovations in mosquito larval control and has stewarded six products through listing with the World Health Organization (WHO) prequalification of vector control products, emphasizing those products which have proven public health value.

Karen serves currently on the RISE Governing Board (2019 to present) and is currently the Governing Board Chair. She was previously co-chair of the RISE Strategic Oversight Council (2017-2019) and chair of the RISE Regulatory Affairs Committee (2014-2016).