In her role as general counsel to the Committee, Karen oversaw and ran some of the most high-profile, complex congressional investigations of the last decade. Karen also managed all facets of the Committee’s legislative process and advised the Committee Chairman and Staff Director on all legal matters, including ethics, procedure and legislative proposals, as well as matters relating to Committee investigations. Prior to this role, Karen served as chief counsel to its Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.
She worked closely with key stakeholders, including the:
- Chairman and subcommittee chairmen
- Staff Director, Deputy Staff Director and chief counsel of all of the subcommittees
- Staff for leadership of the House, including those for the Speaker, Majority Leader and Majority Whip
- General counsel for other committees, including Judiciary, Oversight and Government Reform, Ways and Means, Financial Services, Science, Space and Technology, Armed Services and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
In an earlier role as chief counsel to the Subcommittee, Karen was responsible for briefing members on investigations and preparing them for hearings. In the course of her work, she developed, and now maintains, close working relationships with members and committee staff on both sides of the aisle. Karen has a deep understanding of members’ thinking and purpose when conducting congressional investigations, including their questioning strategy at public hearings.
Karen previously worked as counsel to the House Committee on House Administration, advising on campaign finance and election reform matters. Before that, she worked in private practice as a federal law clerk, and as a legislative and staff assistant to an Ohio member of Congress.