As State Outreach Director, Karen Sutton is responsible for developing and implementing grassroots efforts across the state to inform parents and community leaders about the benefits of parental school choice options.

In this position, Karen works to establish partnerships with private schools that serve students from working class families to advocate for more affordable private school options for their children. She is also responsible for educating private school leaders about the benefits of parental school choice and recruiting new member schools for PEFNC’s private school association, North Carolina Schools for Educational Freedom.

Karen also builds relationships with public charter schools across the state and identifies those leaders who are interested in starting quality public charter schools in North Carolina. She oversees the Parent Liaison Initiative which is designed to inform parents of the importance of parental school choice, as well as empower them with information that they can use to successfully advocate for their children’s needs in any setting, whether in a traditional or non-traditional school.

Karen received her Bachelor of Arts in Special Education from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She brings over 10 years of experience in working with children and adults with developmental disabilities to PEFNC.

She strongly believes that all children deserve a quality education and understands the desire of parents to provide a quality education for their children.

Karen has, and continues to be, an active champion for parental involvement. She currently serves on the School Leadership Team at her neighborhood school and has served as Room Parent, PTA Membership Co-Chair, and Parent Liaison for Parent University, among other committees.