Karen Reyes

Karen Reyes is a DACA recipient, talented Special Education teacher in Austin where she teaches elementary aged children who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing. After immigrating from Mexico at the age of two with her mother, Karen grew up in San Antonio, TX, where she received her Bachelor’s degree in Education and her Master’s degree in Deaf Education and Hearing Science. In addition to teaching full time, Karen currently serves on the Executive Board of Education Austin (a merged local affiliated with the NEA and AFT), and on the Board of Trustees of the Austin Central Labor Council. Karen organizes both in and out of the labor movement to address the challenges that face young workers, students, families, immigrants, and our communities. She has served as co-chair of the Young Active Labor Leaders (YALL) Austin chapter, is the chair of the Education Austin Social Justice Committee, and helped draft and pass a Young Workers resolution at the AFT National Convention, and now serves as chair of the AFT Young Worker Advisory Board. In 2018, her advocacy work earned her recognition as a finalist for the NEA Social Justice Activist of the Year award.