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Home > 2017 Bishop's Dinner > Pro-Life Person of the Year
Karen Garnett
2017 Pro-Life Person of the Year
Congratulations to 2017 Father Edward Robinson, O.P., Pro-Life Person of the Year is Karen Garnett!
Karen Garnett served as the founding Executive Director of the Catholic Pro-Life Committee of North Texas from 1993 to 2015. Commissioned by Dallas Bishop Charles Grahmann, Karen and her team built a solid, grassroots-based organization that brings the pro-life message to the churches and schools of the Diocese of Dallas and provides ministry training nationally and internationally. Under Karen's leadership, the Catholic Pro-Life Committee grew to encompass six departments and nine distinct ministries.
In addition to her 22-year leadership of the Catholic Pro-Life Committee, Karen served as the 2012-14 Chair of the Life & Family Life Department of the Texas Catholic Conference, and as a member of the State Coordinating Committee of the Respect Life Directors of the Dioceses of the State of Texas from 2003-2009. Karen has been a leading voice for the pro-life message at a multitude of events and conference, and on a number of religious and secular media outlets, including Catholic Answers Live with Patrick Coffin, Catholic Connection with Teresa Tomeo, local Dallas news stations, LifeSiteNews,The Wall Street Journal; The Dallas Morning News, The Houston Chronicle; and French and Swedish television news stations.
In February 2004, Karen was the recipient of the Cardinal Mindszenty Foundation of Texas’ Motherhood Award; and in February 2006, was one of six international recipients of Legatus International’s John Cardinal O’Connor Pro-Life Hall of Fame Award, presented in Naples, Florida by Tom Monaghan, the singular time a diocesan respect life director has been recognized with this award. In October 2009, Karen received the Texas Knights of Columbus ACE Award; and in January 2011, the 2011 Texas Life, Faith & Education Award at the Natural Family Planning Center of Dallas’ Pope Paul VI Humanae Vitae Awards Dinner. Karen was also honored to attend the invitation-only Springtime of Faith Foundation 2011 Rome Summit, a select conference for 25 to 30 international Catholic and Christian leaders to help bring about the new evangelization.
In 2016, following her tenure at the Catholic Pro-Life Committee, Karen was given the honorary title of Executive Director Emeritus in recognition of her two decades of service.
In her new chapter of pro-life work, Karen recently founded and is President of Culture of Life Network, devoting her skills and experience to serve the pro-life movement at-large through consulting, speaking, special projects and helping strengthen pro-life information and service networks to support pregnant mothers and their families.
Karen is a lifelong Catholic, born in Norfolk, Virginia, attending Catholic schools in Virginia before relocating to Michigan and finally, Texas. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from Texas A&M University in 1983, with a minor in Business. Karen and her husband Eddie, married in 1984, have one daughter and four sons, and one child lost to miscarriage. Karen and her family are members of St. Rita Catholic Church and the Christian Community of God’s Delight in Dallas.
