About Karen Derr
Karen Collins Derr is a longtime resident of the Houston area and currently resides in the Houston Heights. She is the founder and broker for Karen Derr and Associates Realty which has three offices in Houston and Galveston. The firm is almost 15 years old and listed in the top 25 residential real estate companies in the greater Houston area according to the Houston Business Journal. She is a successful business woman who is often asked to speak about diversity in the workplace, the Houston real estate market, small business marketing and other topics affecting Houston businesses. She has a special interest in entrepreneurship and small business concerns, having owned four small businesses in her life if you count the fireworks stand she and her sisters had at the age of 14. She is a past board director with the Houston Association of Realtors, the Texas Association of Realtors, the Houston Heights Association and on the steering committee of White Linen Night in the Heights and Heights First Saturday. She currently serves on the board of Opera in the Heights and is the co-chair of the Houston Heights Association Education Committee.
Karen was born in New Braunfels Texas. Her mother retired from Southwestern Bell Telephone and worked at the Ashland office in the Heights for many years. Her father retired from the city of Houston as the Director of Airfield and Grounds at IAH, but he had served as the Assistant Airport Manager, the Chief of the Airport Police and as a City of Houston warrant officer. She comes from a long line of police officers. Karen has lived in the greater Houston area since the second grade, attending Katherine Smith Elementary in Oak Forest, Black Junior High, Conroe High School, North Harris County College and the University of Houston. Her husband and business partner of 15 years is Robert C. Derr, Jr.
Largely due to her creative approach to business and a strong work ethic instilled in her by her parents, Karen Derr is now able to devote herself to her lifelong dream of public service. For the past 15 years Karen Derr has owned a successful business headquartered in the Houston Heights. She and her company have relocated clients to homes in all the diverse neighborhoods which make up District H. She has worked volunteering and supporting community efforts concerning education, crime prevention, business development, hike and bike trails, historic preservation, animal welfare, and the arts. As a City Councilwoman she would work to enhance the quality of life for District H residents by focusing on these areas of concern full time. Karen is also committed to a hometown that recycles on a larger scale and is more energy efficient.