Professor Karen Smith

Biography

Karen is a Professor in Tourism Management. Much of her research concerns volunteers and their management in the tourism and events sectors, and more broadly in non-profit organisations in areas as diverse as health, emergency management, and conservation. She is interested in why and how people give time to support a range of causes, and how organisations in the community and voluntary sector (and beyond) respond to and maximise the impact of these donations of time. Specific areas of research interest include event volunteering, recruitment and selection of volunteers, the career paths and professional development of managers of volunteers, and approaches to valuing volunteers. Recent research projects have included a study of the volunteering infrastructure legacy of the Sydney 2000 and London 2012 Olympic Games (funded by the International Olympic Committee), and a project on the experiences and legacies of Rugby World Cup 2011 volunteers (funded by Sport New Zealand).  She is co-Editor of Third Sector Review journal, and is on the Executive Boards of CAUTHE (Council for Australasian Tourism and Hospitality Education) and ANZTSR (Australia and New Zealand Third Sector Research Inc.).