Karen Lewis (labor leader)

Lewis was born in Chicago to a family of teachers.[4] She attended Kenwood High School (now Kenwood Academy), leaving after her junior year to attend Mount Holyoke College. Lewis says Mount Holyoke "taught [her] you can do anything…to use your mind well…to express yourself."[5] She transferred to Dartmouth College in 1972, when Dartmouth became the last Ivy League institution to become co-educational,[6] and is the only African-American woman in the class of 1974. She graduated with a degree in sociology and music.[7] Lewis then earned her Master’s Degree in Inner City Studies from Northeastern Illinois University.[8]

Lewis was the president of the Chicago Teachers Union. She has been a member of the union since 1988. In 2010, Lewis, running with the Caucus of Rank and File Educators (CORE), gained control over the CTU by winning 60% of the vote in a run-off election.[9] CORE ran an aggressive grassroots organizing campaign, and took a strong stance against school privatization.[10] CORE accused the incumbent United Progressive Caucus (UPC) of capitulating to corporate interests, silencing dissent within the union, and collaborating with the city to prevent union outreach at schools.[11] CORE quickly took action to distinguish itself from UPC, the previous caucus controlling the CTU, reaffirm its grassroots support, and launch a campaign to defend public education. The new leadership cut pay for union officers and used the savings to expand outreach.[12] CORE represented a major bloc of dissent at the 2012 AFT convention, and held signs in protest of Race to the Top during a speech from Vice President Joe Biden.[13]

She is a convert to Judaism.[20] An opera aficionado, she speaks French, Italian, and Latin, and plays flute and piano.[21]

On October 9, 2014, Lewis was hospitalized for a "serious illness".[22] On October 13, a source confirmed that Lewis had been diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor.[23]