Growing up in the Bay Area, Carin learned to make her own opportunities from a young age. During high school she worked throughout, led many student organizations and volunteered for a number of organizations, namely the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt to raise awareness about the AIDS epidemic sweeping the country. It was nearly a year after this volunteer work (1990) when three good friends revealed that they were gay. She responded with 'we love you and who are you dating'. These wonderful friends are still in my life.  

​

Graduating from Antioch High in 1989, while her mom was on welfare, she was the lucky recipient of a scholarship to Barnard College, Columbia University. Her education in New York City wasn’t just a complex dive into Political Economy, it was a lesson in perseverance. Working multiple jobs and interning during the summers, Carin’s college years led to a tough but rewarding career in information technology and business consulting. She worked out New York, Chicago, and San Francisco offices, mostly with healthcare clients.

​​​

Carin’s family is her anchor, and together they had the chance to become global citizens by living, learning, and working in the Netherlands. While abroad, Carin returned to university to get a Master’s in International and European Governance. For her thesis, she researched the use of discriminatory election practices to suppress the vote and potentially swing elections. This research led her to work for Democrats Abroad (Global IT, Global Women's Caucus and Global LGBTQ+ Caucus) and launch Women to Win, a platform that promoted democratic women running for U.S. House and U.S. Senate seats during the 2020 election cycle. 

​

During this time, Carin's daughter was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa (RP), a rare disease that leads vision loss and legal blindness. Two weeks later, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. These life events redirected her next steps, and she began working for LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired in San Francisco. The work was incredibly rewarding.​

​

Now, in this moment, Carin returns to her political endeavors because we keep losing. She believes that we keep losing because the party promotes the wrong candidates. We need new leaders in Washington. She's running for Congress to make sure the 14th District is in the most caring and capable hands.