For State Representative House District 40
Karen was raised by her divorced mother and grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma with three brothers. She is a mother of an adult daughter and has three grandchildren. Upon high school graduation, she attended Haskell Indian Junior College and later achieved her undergraduate degree from Northeastern Oklahoma State University in Tahlequah Oklahoma
As a natural advocate who brings people together to resolve issues and build bridges and has assumed many leadership responsibilities within the American Indian
Community. She is currently employed at the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Science Center as a Professional Research Associate. In this position, she serves as the primary point of contact for focused training and technical assistance to ensure quality data at the Indian Health Service (IHS) Coordinating Center. The Coordinating Center serves sixty-six Diabetes Prevention and Cardiovascular Disease competitive grant projects throughout the twelve IHS Area Offices.
Karen has also worked for the Colorado Commission of Indian Affairs (CCIA) where she collaborated with federal, state and local agencies as the state advocate for the two sovereign Indian reservations within the State of Colorado as well as American Indians in Colorado for the Office of the Lieutenant Governor of the State of Colorado.
Additionally Karen was active in the legislative passage of the American Indian Education bill, the American Indian license plate that created a scholarship for American Indians in Colorado, the state Indian Child Welfare Act and played a major role in several endeavors to amend the Unmarked Human Graves Act
Civic Leadership Roles
Community Awards