Karen Sue Pence is an American schoolteacher, painter, and was the second lady of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
18 Facts About Karen Pence
2.
Karen Pence is married to the 48th vice president of the United States, Mike Pence.
3.
Karen Pence was the first lady of Indiana from 2013 to 2017.
4.
Pence was born as Karen Sue Batten at McConnell Air Force Base in Kansas on January 1,1957, the daughter of Lillian and John M Batten, a United Airlines official.
5.
Karen Pence's parents divorced when she was very young, and her mother married Bernard Barcio in 1967.
6.
Karen Pence grew up in the Broad Ripple Village neighborhood of Indianapolis, where she graduated as valedictorian from Bishop Chatard High School.
7.
Karen Pence has taught at John Strange Elementary, Acton Elementary, Fall Creek Elementary, and the Orchard School, all in Indianapolis.
8.
Karen Pence has completed as many as thirty-five paintings a year, some on commission and selling others at local art fairs.
9.
Karen Pence was the first lady of Indiana during her husband's term as governor of the state from 2013 to 2017.
10.
The business was put on hold when Mike Karen Pence became a vice presidential candidate.
11.
Karen Pence became the second lady of the United States on January 20,2017, succeeding Jill Biden.
12.
Karen Pence hired Kristan King Nevins as her chief of staff; Nevins had served in the same position under former First Lady Barbara Bush.
13.
Karen Pence continued to raise awareness of honey bee habitat destruction and the importance of pollination in 2017 by having a beehive installed at the official vice presidential residence, Number One Observatory Circle.
14.
Karen Pence was criticized in the media and by LGBT advocates and advocacy organizations in the days following the announcement.
15.
Vice President Karen Pence defended his wife's profession and decision, accusing her critics of attacking religious education.
16.
Karen Pence has lived most of her life in Indiana, though the entire family moved to Washington, DC for the twelve years that husband Mike was a congressman from Indiana before his election as governor of Indiana.
17.
Karen Pence is known for her dedication to promoting art as a way of healing.
18.
Karen Pence provided the watercolor illustrations for her daughter Charlotte's 2018 children's book, Marlon Bundo's A Day in the Life of the Vice President, the proceeds from which are given to charities, including an art therapy program.