Jamaican Rev. Dr. Karen Green, a humanitarian ambassador-at-large for the United Nations, has been appointed to serve as one of four vice-chairs of the Florida Democratic Party. She has previously served as the Party’s chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee. Green was appointed vice-chair by Manny Diaz, the chair of the Florida Democratic Party. In her new role, she will join with current executive members as part of the Party’s statewide leadership team.
Green made her entry to politics in Jamaica working as an intern in the Ministry of Youth. In her political career, she has been the Caribbean Coalition director for several presidential campaigns, including that of Hilly Clinton. Green is a presidential campaign liaison for Democrats overseas and has also served as an advance speaker for former President Bill Clinton and former First Lady Michelle Obama.
Commenting on her new role in an interview with The Gleaner newspaper, Green said that expanding the message of the Democratic Party in Florida will be her top priority. She also wants to bring in diverse communities, noting that the Party had not done as well as expected in the 2020 election because it had not done enough to counter the message brought to the state by Republicans.
Green believes her new position will give her the chance to use her experience, knowledge, and successes to emphasize inclusion in the democratic process. She plans to proceed with outreach to women because they make up a critical part of the Democratic Party in Florida, and without them the Party cannot make significant progress in the state. She will make an effort to replicate the practices put in place by Stacey Abrams in Georgia, practices that led to a victory for Joe Biden and two Democratic Senate candidates.
An alumna of St Hugh’s High School in Jamaica, Green attended the University of Technology and the University of the West Indies before traveling to London for further studies. After interning at the Ministry of Youth, she organized and registered youth voters in Portmore, St. Catherine. After migrating to the United States in 1990, Green was inspired by the speech former President Barack Obama made at the Democratic Party Convention in support of candidate John Kerry. She worked on Kerry’s campaign and also with the Obama coalition later on.
Green views her new role as another challenge on her journey in politics. She believes the Party must choose the right candidates to run for statewide offices in Florida. She identified the major issues for voters in Florida include immigration, education, healthcare, minimum wage, small businesses, economic empowerment, and creating agricultural and industrial partnerships.
In addition to finding a way to educate voters and build alliances, the Party must find the issues that will make Florida voters view the Democratic candidates as “more electable. Green also believes that faith-based outreach must be part of the Party’s strategy, and she is ready to apply her experience as a political strategist, advocate for social justice, mediator, and humanitarian to her new position as a vice-chair of the Party so that the state of Florida can ultimately form a part of Democratic territory.
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