Senator Karen Lewis Young Contact information

Karen Lewis Young

Born on June 21, 1951, in New York City, Karen Lewis Young is an American politician who has been serving in the Maryland Senate from District 3 since 2023. She previously served as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates from District 3A from 2015 to 2023.

Early Life and Education

Young was born to a Jewish family in The Bronx and was raised in Montoursville, Pennsylvania. She attended Franklin & Marshall College, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history in 1973. She then attended Columbia University, where she earned a Master of Arts degree in American history in 1974 and a Master of Business Administration degree in marketing in 1977.

Career

Young worked at a variety of financial firms, including Citibank, Capital One, Chase Manhattan Bank, and American Express, from 1996 to 2008. She also operated her own consulting business, Karen Lewis Market Research, from 2004 to 2006. Young moved to Frederick, Maryland in 1996 to do direct marketing for Farmers and Mechanics National Bank.

Political Career

In May 2009, Young announced that she would run for a seat on the Frederick Board of Aldermen, motivated by the 2008 United States presidential election and her community involvement. She earned 14.34 percent of the vote in the Democratic primaries and 11.57 percent of the vote in the general election.

In 2013, Young unsuccessfully ran for mayor of Frederick, earning 31.10 percent of the vote in the general election. In February 2014, Young announced that she would run for the Maryland House of Delegates, seeking to succeed delegate Galen R. Clagett, who was retiring that year. She received 34.5 percent of the vote in the Democratic primary election and defeated Republican challengers Victoria Wilkins and county commissioner Paul Smith in the general election with 26.3 percent of the vote.

Young was sworn into the Maryland House of Delegates on January 14, 2015. She was a member of the Health and Government Operations Committee. Upon her swearing in, she and her husband Ronald N. Young became the first husband and wife to simultaneously serve together in the Maryland General Assembly. Young was subsequently re-elected to a second term in 2018.

Young participated in the Women’s March in Frederick following the inauguration of Donald Trump. She has been serving in the Maryland Senate from District 3 since 2023.