State Representative Karen Middleton represents House District 42 in West Central Aurora.  She was appointed on February 13, 2008 and subsequently elected in November 2008.

Karen is the Majority Caucus Chair and serves on the House Education Committee and the Business Affairs and Labor Committee.

Karen runs a small non-profit management firm, Karen Middleton & Associates and teaches political science at the Community College of Aurora and the Metropolitan State College of Denver.

Karen served on the State Board of Education from November 2004 to February 2008, representing the Seventh Congressional District.

She has extensive professional experience in both K-12 and higher education, and has previously worked for an education publishing company, ScholarCentric, that offers a dropout prevention curriculum.

In 2004, she served as Policy Director for the Democratic Caucus in the state House of Representatives.  Previously she held positions at the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE), the Center for Internet Technology in Education at eCollege, and as Assistant Dean of the Graduate School of International Studies at the University of Denver.  While at WICHE, she was instrumental in establishing the North American Council for On-Line Learning, an international association of online K-12 schools.

Karen’s Family

Karen is married to Larry Beer and they make their home in Aurora’s Park East neighborhood. Karen’s stepdaughters Molly (15) and Katie (12) attend Denver Public Schools.  Daughter, Zoe Grace Middleton, will be 2 in August.  Last, but not least, the family dog is Stella who is a Chow/Border Collie.