She/Her

Treasurer

A native Oklahoman, Karen arrived in Texas at the age of three and has claimed the state has her home ever since. She spent her early years in Dallas, but has lived in Tyler almost continuously since age ten, leaving only for education at UT-Austin where she earned her B.S. in Advertising and spent a few years working in Waco in the 1980’s. Her career includes experience in the advertising agency business, freelance photography, and crisis counseling after earning M.S. Clinical Psychology at UT-Tyler in the late 1990’s.

“Retired” at the age of 50, she has devoted the last 20+ years to volunteer service on many boards and other leadership positions including United Way, Tyler Unity Center, Equality Texas Foundation, and  Texas Democratic Party. The FIRST LGBTQIA+ couple married in Smith County in 2015, Karen and her wife Jolie spend their free time traveling, grandmothering, and enjoying life with two ornery cats.