Karen Muñoz is LatinoJustice PRLDEF's first Justice Catalyst Fellow for 2023-2025 out of our Southwest regional office in Austin, Texas. Karen’s project focuses on supporting detained people, families, and advocates fighting the overcrowded jail system in Hays and Hidalgo Counties. For her project, she will be partnering with numerous community advocates, including Mano Amiga San Marcos, a non-profit Karen founded before enrolling in law school that is focused on immigration and criminal legal reform in central Texas. Before joining LatinoJustice, Karen represented people charged with misdemeanors in criminal state court in Texas. She has a special interest in representing people in parole hearings after representing her brother on parole.

Karen earned her JD from St. Mary’s University School of Law. While in law school, Karen participated in her school’s criminal justice clinic and was a recipient of the Alice Franzke Feminist Award. Prior to law school, Karen co-founded Mano Amiga, a non-profit focused on immigration and criminal justice reform in central Texas.