Karen Hale (b.1958) was a member of the Transportation and Public Safety Committee, Education Committee and the Public Education Appropriations Subcommittee. Hale is a co-founder of the Coalition of Quality Public Education (CQPE), a non-partisan group of legislators, educators, parents, business and community leaders committed to finding solutions to the critical funding needs of Utah's education system. The CQPE was instrumental in helping to shed light on the plight of dedicated teachers, parents, and students who can no longer sustain a system so deficient in textbooks, supplies, student interventions, professional development time and appropriate classroom size.
As a state senator, Hale was a passionate voice on Capitol Hill for public and higher education and the safety and health of Utah families. She was a strong advocate for arts education in the public schools and adequate funding for tabacco prevention programs.
Hale, a native Utahn, graduated from the University of Utah with a B.S. in Mass Communication. She has been actively involved in public schools, environmental education, church and community affairs, and is the former editor and publisher of Parent Express, a news and resource magazine for Utah families. Karen and her husband Jon are the parents of five children.