In 1999, Karen Carter Peterson was elected to fill the legislative seat of Louisiana Civil Rights legend Rev. Avery C. Alexander. Her legislative district (District 93) encompasses the heart of New Orleans and includes the city's most famous areas: the French Quarter, the Superdome, the CBD the Garden District, Treme and the Port of New Orleans along the Mississippi River. She is currently serving her third term in the Louisiana House of Representatives, where she chairs the powerful House Insurance Committee. During her first term, Mrs. Peterson served on the Ways & Means Committee, House and Governmental Affairs Committee, Municipal, Parochial and Cultural Affairs Committee, House Executive Committee and Joint Legislative Committee on Capital Outlay. During her first year as a legislator, Rep. Peterson was selected by her colleagues as "Rookie of the Year."

Mrs. Peterson also manages her private law practice, Carter Law, APLC. She has represented clients on matters related to public utility regulatory compliance, litigation, agency rulemakings and appeals, casualty defense, personal injuries, real estate and successions. She has worked on many commercial and financial matters, including commercial litigation, contracts, bond issuance and corporate restructuring. Mrs. Peterson also advises emerging businesses on a full range of legal matters, including incorporations and financing. She has begun to develop a significant public finance and bond practice in recent years, having served as underwriter’s counsel on several transactions involving local and state entities.

Rep. Peterson is a 1991 graduate of Howard University School of Business where she received a degree in International Business and Marketing. While at Howard, Karen was an officer of the International Business Society and a member of the International Business Fraternity of Delta Sigma Pi. Also, during college she worked for both United States Senator John Breaux and Congressman Billy Tauzin. Rep. Peterson is a graduate of Tulane University Law School.

Rep. Peterson’s present and past professional and civic activities include board memberships with the Louisiana Trial Lawyers Association, YWCA of Greater New Orleans, Dryades Street YMCA, Kingsley House, the Blood Center, the Vieux Carre Alliance, the Coliseum Square Association, the Friends of the New Orleans Public Library, the New Orleans Bar Association’s Young Lawyers, the Louis A. Martinet Legal Society, and the Louisiana State Bar Association’s Committees on Public Information, and Bench-Bar Liaison. She has served as a volunteer for the Free Tutoring Program, Inc., the Young Leadership Council’s Recreate New Orleans program and as an adult advisor to St. Monica’s Christian Youth Organization. Mrs. Peterson is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., the National Conference of State Legislators, the National Association of Insurance Legislators, Louisiana Automobile Theft and Insurance Fraud Prevention Authority, and the National Black Caucus of State Legislators.

At age 18, Rep. Peterson began serving as a delegate to Democratic National Conventions. She was elected in 1988, 1996, 2000 and 2004 to represent Jesse Jackson, Bill Clinton, Al Gore, and John Kerry  respectively. Since 1996, Mrs. Peterson has served on the Louisiana Democratic State Central Committee. She currently serves as Vice-President of Elected Officials for the Louisiana Democratic Party and serves on its Executive and Finance Committees. She also serves on the Orleans Parish Democratic Executive Committee. She is the former statewide committee Chair for Young Democrats. Since 2003, she has served on the Executive Board of the National Democratic Leadership Council’s State Legislative Advisory Committee.