Karen Clifton is the founding Executive Director of Catholic Mobilizing Network (CMN). She began her work against the death penalty in 1996 in Houston, Texas, when her social justice and advocacy projects intersected with those of Sr. Helen Prejean, CSJ. This relationship resulted in the 2008 formation of CMN in partnership with the Congregation of St. Joseph Sisters.

Karen has been an organizer and advocate since 1990. Her work has been associated with the Catholic Worker, the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, the San Jose Clinic, AIDS ministry, and the Ignatian Spirituality Project. She is currently the Coordinator of the Catholic Prison Ministries Coalition (CPMC), an initiative of CMN. Karen holds a Masters in Divinity from University of St. Thomas, St. Mary’s School of Theology, and has worked in spiritual direction since 1996. She is the mother of five adult children and grandmother to ten grandchildren. Karen was awarded the 2011 Servitor Pacis Award by the Path to Peace Foundation, the Mission of the Vatican to the United Nations to promote peace.