Carol is an engineer, advocate, educator, and bilingual leader in PA-07 dedicated to serving her community.
Carol was only 3 years old when her family immigrated from Colombia, and while it was a transition full of financial hardship, language barriers, and sacrifices, her family found the better life they were looking for in the U.S.
Her mother was a factory machine operator, and her father was a hospital technician. Learning from her parents’ work ethic, Carol took multiple jobs in high school to contribute and volunteered as a candy striper. Despite her busy schedule, she graduated near the top of her class.
After receiving her master’s from Penn State, Carol went on to build a career dedicated to helping people help themselves. She worked in a Head Start program, ran a food pantry, and an after-school program. She became the Executive Director of two prominent non-profits: SkillsUSA Council focusing on career and technical students, and the Children’s Coalition of the Lehigh Valley.
She also worked as Sen. Casey’s Regional Manager, including Lehigh, Northampton, and Carbon Counties. She served on Gov. Wolf’s Advisory Commission on Latino Affairs, volunteered with the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce, and taught at Northampton Community College.
At 43, she went back to earn a master’s degree in energy engineering from Lehigh University. She worked on energy issues for PPL Electric Utilities for nine years.
She and her husband Chad settled in the Lehigh Valley more than 20 years ago and are raising their two children here.