Karen Defilippi

she/her/hers

Karen Defilippi is an experienced ad maker and strategist. Through her work with Versus, she helped overturn Missouri’s abortion ban, pass the first equal rights ballot amendment in the country, and elect new Members of Congress and progressive prosecutors across the country. Having worked with hundreds of candidates, Karen knows your story matters and is passionate about conveying it to voters in a real, impactful way.

Karen previously served as the Deputy Executive Director for the DCCC in 2022 and was the primary architect of Democrats’ battlefield strategy, which produced the strongest midterm performance by House Democrats under a first-term President in six decades. She also served three cycles at EMILY’s List leading the team that tripled the number of women Governors and elected 34 new Democratic women to the House in 2018—enough to deliver the Democratic majority alone. 

Originally from a blue collar community in Western Pennsylvania, Karen wanted to work in Democratic politics because she was raised with a deep sense of justice and fairness and believes that if you work hard you should be able to get ahead. Hailing from the city that has the most Super Bowl championships, she loves to win and has worked on over 100 primaries.

She is a frequent commenter on politics in print and on air and was recognized for her work at EMILY’s List by the American Association of Political Consultants (AAPC) as one of its “40 under 40” Award Winners in 2018.

Karen lives in Washington, D.C. with her amazing, patient wife and two children—her proudest accomplishment yet.

FAVORITE MOVIE

A League of Their Own