Karen Christina Shelton (born November 14, 1957 in Honolulu, Hawaii) is a former field hockey player from the United States, who was a member of the national team that won the bronze medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California. She attended West Chester State and was a member of three field hockey NCAA championship winning teams. She also represented her country on the US Olympic team in 1980. She has been the head coach for the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill since 1981 and since then has led the Tarheels to six NCAA Championships and eight NCAA runner-up finals.