Born and raised in Miami Beach, Florida, Judge Karen was one of four ambitious siblings and she graduated as the valedictorian of her high school class. Judge Karen completed her undergraduate education at the prestigious Bowdoin College in Maine on a full scholarship and she spent summers studying at the University of Wisconsin. After graduation, she worked in the public welfare sector in areas such as job training and helping welfare recipients to gain employment. She graduated from the Levin School of Law at the University of Florida in 1987.