Transforming Lives, Connecting Communities: Celebrating Karen Beardsley’s Impact on Global Education
As the director of Global Professional Programs at UC Davis Global Affairs, Karen Beardsley has spent more than a decade building connections among UC Davis, international professionals and the local community. Helping facilitate and advance career development, education and mentorship across the world is a mission Beardsley has been deeply devoted to. And with hundreds of Mandela Washington Fellows and Hubert H. Humphrey Fellows coming to UC Davis under Beardsley’s care, she has had a tremendous impact on shaping a vibrant international network of professionals, forever connected to UC Davis.
Beardsley will retire in January 2026, making this a meaningful moment to reflect on her journey and lasting contributions. Global Affairs thrives because of leaders like Beardsley, who pursue global impact and nurture future change-makers through authentic connections and bridge-building. Moved by her Peace Corps service as a teacher in Kenya, her two decades of GIS research and her ongoing instruction in Bhutan, Beardsley has been committed to fostering international collaboration and achievement for academics and early-to-mid-career professionals. These experiences exemplify what global education can be at its best: transformative and full of possibilities. Every day, Beardsley has shaped futures, fostered connections and brought the world closer to UC Davis. Although she officially joined Global Affairs in 2014, her journey at UC Davis began much earlier–spanning career pivots, countries and unexpected opportunities that shaped the leader she is today.
From Math Major to Geography Scientist
Years before mentoring international professionals from across the globe and launching a study abroad program in the Himalayas, Beardsley was a UC Davis student herself, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and proudly playing in the Cal Aggie Marching Band. After graduating, she joined the Peace Corps to teach math and science in Kenya. It was here that Beardsley studied elephant populations and contributed to international conservation efforts. “I had the opportunity to work on a project in Kenya after my two years as a Peace Corps volunteer–and that project involved using geographic information systems (GIS) to estimate elephant populations for the continent. It was especially exciting because I got to learn this technology that almost no one knew about back then,” Beardsley explained. The research ultimately supported the 1989 global ban on ivory and the listing of the African elephant as an endangered species.
Beardsley continued her academic journey by earning a Master of Arts in Geography from UC Santa Barbara, sharpening her focus on conservation, research and GIS. She ended up serving in a variety of technical and leadership roles that deepened her expertise, working for a few years at UC Santa Barbara and then transitioning back to UC Davis in 1993 to work at the Information Center for the Environment. Beardsley ultimately made the jump to get her Ph.D. in Geography at UC Davis–a decision that set the stage for her work in global education. “I got a lot of encouragement from my mentors in the department to go back to school and get my Ph.D., and I am so thankful for that because even though I didn’t go on to be a professor, the degree opened doors for me. For example, I wouldn’t have been able to pursue a Fulbright award had I not gotten the Ph.D.,” shared Beardsley. “I always tell young people–follow your gut and your passion. Find the thing you enjoy doing the most and then try to do more of it.”
A Career in Global Education
In 2010 at UC Davis, before Beardsley joined Global Affairs, she had the opportunity to help develop and host a three-week seminar on climate change and natural resource management for scholars from around the world. “The cohort building process for this seminar is where I first learned how much I enjoyed facilitating and being a part of international scholar experiences here in the United States–with us, the different people they interacted with, but also how they interacted and got to know each other and then how those relationships lasted long after they left.” The seminar became a turning point–solidifying her commitment to education and the impact and benefits of global exchange. Building global cohorts, hosting scholars andwatching networks across borders grow sparked her love for international education.
Since joining Global Affairs in 2014, Beardsley has led UC Davis’s engagement in multiple programs, including the Mandela Washington Fellowship, the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship and Fulbright. Her role sits at the intersection of mentorship, academic exchange and leadership development.
As director of Global Professional Programs, no two days look alike, and her schedule can vary dramatically throughout the year–a challenge she embraces. During the Mandela Washington Fellowship, for example, her days often stretch to 10-12 hours as she supports the fellows through a packed schedule. Beardsley helps coordinate and execute trips to Sacramento, San Francisco and Lake Tahoe; weekly seminars with state agencies, UC Davis experts and nonprofits; community service programming; best-practice exchanges with other universities; and technical and storytelling workshops using GIS, which she teaches herself.
Beardsley shared that the most rewarding part of her job is “Working with the fellows who come from all over the world, who are usually early-to mid-career professionals at a point where they are actively trying to advance their careers.” In her position, she helps bring transformative experiences to life through leadership training, professional affiliations and community service. For example, just one of the remarkable stories she has seen was when she matched a Tanzanian medical doctor–passionate about space and its intersection with medicine–with Dr. Stephen Robinson–a UC Davis professor, astronaut and fellow Cal Aggie Marching Band alumnus. The connection led to the fellow delivering a TED Talk on the blend of space, health and global learning–a moment made possible through the mentorship she helped facilitate. Beardsley reflected, “That ability to really help people get what they want and move in the direction they want in their careers and lives–is really rewarding and exciting.”
Another Home in Bhutan
It was a family vacation that sparked one of the most defining chapters in Beardsley’s global journey. On a trip to Bhutan–while spending time with a friend she met during her earlier seminar on climate change and natural resource management–she visited Royal Thimphu College, where she learned that the faculty wanted to introduce GIS into their environmental science curriculum. Beardsley, eager to help where she could, connected the college with a donated copy of GIS software and a grant to assist with technical setup; however, they realized there was no one there to teach GIS. “Somebody mentioned to me, ‘You should apply for a Fulbright.’ I thought about how it would be a great opportunity for me to go there and develop the curriculum–helping them establish a program in teaching GIS as a part of their environmental sciences curriculum,” she said.
Beardsley was ultimately awarded a Fulbright grant to teach at the Royal Thimphu College in Bhutan for a year. The Fulbright experience solidified something important to her: her passion and dedication truly lie in international education. Today, she travels annually to Thimphu, Bhutan, to the same university she visited years ago on her first trip, to teach GIS in the Land of the Thunder Dragon program. She explained, “Bhutan is what I call my ‘happy place.’ I think we all might have a place that when we’re there, we feel calm, we feel ourselves, we feel connected to the place, to the people, to the culture–and that has certainly become that place for me. When I get off the plane, I take a breath and feel at home and at peace in a way that I don't in other places. There's a lot of other places I would love to go, but Bhutan is the place I return to–the one I truly feel connected to.”
Beyond the Office
As Beardsley enters retirement, she looks forward to new professional and personal chapters, including continuing to teach GIS at UC Davis through Continuing and Professional Education and her study abroad program, traveling and exploring hobbies. She will also continue to serve on the Technical Advisory Group for the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship program, helping to shape global leadership development using her expertise.
Outside of her academic and administrative commitments, Beardsley stays engaged in running, exploring her creativity with tie-dye and playing music for the California Repercussions–a San Francisco Bay Area-based performance group that has even toured in Greece.