Karen Handel

Karen C. Handel (born April 18, 1962) is an American business consultant and former elected official.

She served as Secretary of State of Georgia from 2007 until January 2010, when she resigned to run, unsuccessfully, for the Republican Party nomination for Governor of Georgia. In 2011, Handel was appointed senior vice president of public policy at Susan G. Komen for the Cure, a leading charity in the cause of fighting breast cancer, and resigned on February 7, 2012, following the foundation's controversial decisions to end, and then restore, funding for Planned Parenthood. Karen Handel was a candidate for the Republican nomination for Governor in 2010, winning the primary but losing the primary runoff to Nathan Deal. Handel was also a candidate for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in 2014 but lost in the May 20, 2014 Republican primary, coming in third.

Early career

Handel was born in Washington, D.C. and grew up in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. After graduating in May 1980 from Frederick Douglass High School in Upper Marlboro, Handel attended both Prince George's Community College and The University of Maryland, but did not complete any degree. She then went to work for Hallmark Cards. Later, she served as deputy chief of staff to Vice-President Dan Quayle's wife, Marilyn, where she worked to promote breast cancer awareness and research.