Karen Hinks
Founder/Principal
Advocate for Change
From her early days growing up in Indiana during the transformative 1960’s, Karen has been deeply committed to social justice and political activism. The civil rights movements and pivotal historical events of the era, such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, shaped her views towards a dedicated career in politics and advocacy.
Karen embarked on her political journey with a seminal internship under the Lyndon Baines Johnson (LBJ) Congressional Internship Program in Washington, DC, as a junior in college. This experience solidified her resolve to make a significant impact in politics. After graduating from Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Indiana, with a double major in English Literature and Writing, she moved to Washington, DC and began her notable decades’ long career in politics.
Throughout her extensive career, Karen has played pivotal roles in various capacities with political campaigns at the federal state and local levels, political action committees (PACs) and non-profit organizations.
In 2005, Karen relocated to Southern California and took on the role of Executive Director of the Democratic Foundation of Orange County (DFOC), where she continued her advocacy and political management. With a focus on Progressive Democratic women, Women of Color and women living in under-represented communities, Karen founded and currently chairs, Welead OC, dedicated to encouraging Progressive Democratic women to step into their power to lead their communities as activists, campaign professionals and/or as city councils and school board candidates.
Karen’s ongoing commitment to fostering democratic participation for marginalized communities defines her professional ethos. Her career is not just by the positions she has held, but by her persistent pursuit of a more equitable and representative political landscape.
Karen embarked on her political journey with a seminal internship under the Lyndon Baines Johnson (LBJ) Congressional Internship Program in Washington, DC, as a junior in college. This experience solidified her resolve to make a significant impact in politics. After graduating from Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Indiana, with a double major in English Literature and Writing, she moved to Washington, DC and began her notable decades’ long career in politics.
Throughout her extensive career, Karen has played pivotal roles in various capacities with political campaigns at the federal state and local levels, political action committees (PACs) and non-profit organizations.
In 2005, Karen relocated to Southern California and took on the role of Executive Director of the Democratic Foundation of Orange County (DFOC), where she continued her advocacy and political management. With a focus on Progressive Democratic women, Women of Color and women living in under-represented communities, Karen founded and currently chairs, Welead OC, dedicated to encouraging Progressive Democratic women to step into their power to lead their communities as activists, campaign professionals and/or as city councils and school board candidates.
Karen’s ongoing commitment to fostering democratic participation for marginalized communities defines her professional ethos. Her career is not just by the positions she has held, but by her persistent pursuit of a more equitable and representative political landscape.