Carol O.

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

ABOUT CAROL O.

Carol is a new type of person running for office who understands working families\' struggles because she\'s lived them. She\'s an engineer, educator, advocate, and bilingual community leader in #PA07 who has dedicated her life to our community. Carol is running for Congress to fight back. Moreover, the path to flipping the House runs through our district, so this race is crucial. Visit https://carolforpa.com/ to learn more and donate at: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/codct.She immigrated with her family from Colombia when she was three years old. She knows first-hand the challenges immigrants face—language barriers and making ends meet—and she knows how to overcome them. Inspired by her parents’ drive and commitment to create a better life, Carol graduated in the top 15 of her class while working three jobs and volunteering in her neighborhood as a candy striper, where she learned the importance of giving back and a healthy community.She attended Rutgers University as an undergraduate and earned a master’s degree in Community Psychology and Social Change from Penn State. She\'s worked at a Head Start and oversaw a food pantry, after-school program, and summer camp that kept area kids fed, safe, and learning. As the executive director of SkillsUSA Council, she helped thousands of kids launch careers with the career and tech training they received. Seeing a gap in children’s advocacy, she became the first full-time executive director of the Children’s Coalition of the Lehigh Valley, where she trained hundreds of new child advocates and mobilized them to champion children’s issues and policies. She also taught a career exploration class at Northampton Community College for nontraditional students.After 15 years in the nonprofit sector, U.S. Senator Casey selected Carol as his Regional Manager and Statewide Latino Affairs Advisor. During her tenure, she connected with thousands of constituents and put them in touch with the services they needed. Impressed with Carol’s results and community engagement, Pennsylvania Governor Wolf asked her to join his Governor\'s Advisory Commission on Latino Affairs.Carol has almost a decade in the private sector working at PPL Electric Utilities. During her time there, she earned her second master’s degree in energy systems engineering from Lehigh University. She has helped people and companies lower their utility bills and keep more money in their pockets. She also helped with the economic development of the region by interconnecting companies to the electric grid, many of which were renewable energy companies.