The Mayor's Office

Karen was born in Hampshire, adopted at 6 weeks and brought up in Surrey. She attended school in Redhill and at 18 left home to begin her nurse training at Epsom District Hospital. Unfortunately, she sustained an injury and was unable to compete her training. She then joined the Home Office where she remained for 2 years.

She has over 25 years of experience in charity retail both as a volunteer and paid staff. She is currently a volunteer at Cancer Research in Sittingbourne and does fundraising for the charity, completing a 5k for them last year.

Karen is married with 3 children, one of whom is on the autistic spectrum and she has an interest in campaigning for more resources for families. Her youngest child attended The Sittingbourne School and is now at Royal Holloway University where she is studying English.

First elected as a Swale Borough Councillor for Roman Ward in May 2023, Karen is currently Vice Chair on the Housing and Health Committee as well as a member of the planning and community committees.

She is also a member of the Pathfinders group which aims to raise and address the concerns of people with dementia.

Karen is very interested in history and books and could probably open her own library with the number she has!!   She is very passionate about trying to encourage more people especially children to become interested in history. She is also very proud of her Irish heritage and women’s issues particularly around domestic violence.