Bishop Oliveto has the distinction of being the first openly LGBTQ+ bishop in The United Methodist  Church. She and her wife, Robin Ridenour, a nurse anesthetist and United Methodist deaconess,  met in Junior High Church Camp and have been together for 25 years. They were married in 2014.

Karen P. Oliveto was consecrated as a bishop of The United Methodist Church on July 16, 2016 in Scottsdale, Ariz., and served the Mountain Sky Episcopal Area, which includes congregations in Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, and a small section of Idaho from 2016-2024. She retired on August 31, 2024. 

Bishop Oliveto earned her B.A. in Psychology, cum laude, from Drew University, Madison, N.J., in 1980. She earned her Master in Divinity from Pacific School of Religion,  Berkley, Calif., in 1983, a Master in Philosophy from Drew University in 1991, and a PhD in the  Sociology of Religion from Drew University in 2002. 

Bishop Oliveto was named by NBC as one of 30 contemporary LGBTQ change-makers as part of their #Pride50 series. She was also named one of the Faith Leaders to Watch in 2021 by the Center  for American Progress. 

Bishop Oliveto is the co-author of Talking About Homosexuality: A Congregational  Resource (Pilgrim Press: 2004), and the author of Our Strangely Warmed Hearts: Coming Out into  God's Call (Abingdon, 2018) and Together at the Table: Diversity without Division in The United  Methodist Church (Westminster John Knox: 2018). 

Bishop Oliveto is the board chair of the Center for LGBTQ+ United Methodist Heritage, a program arm of the General Commission on Archives and History.