Zahra S. Karinshak is an American attorney and politician. A member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, Karinshak represented the 48th Georgia State Senate district.

Early life and career

Karinshak was born in

Chattanooga Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...

, Tennessee, the oldest of five children. Her father is

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

and her mother is American. Karinshak grew up in

LaFayette, Georgia LaFayette ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Walker County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 6,888. It was founded as Chattooga. LaFayette is part of the Chattanooga, TN-GA Metropolitan Statistical Ar ...

, where she attended LaFayette High School. In 1985, Karinshak was nominated by Congressman

George Darden George Washington "Buddy" Darden III (born November 22, 1943) is an American politician and lawyer from Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. He served in the state house and then for more than five terms as Congressman from Georgia. Early life Darden ...

to attend the

United States Air Force Academy The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academy in El Paso County, Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs. It educates cadets for service in the officer corps of the United States Air Force and Uni ...

, where she served as a soaring instructor pilot. She graduated in 1989 with a BS degree in International Affairs and a Minor in Arabic. She was also recognized as the Top Graduate in Law. Karinshak was subsequently commissioned as an intelligence officer in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

. As an Air Force officer, Karinshak received numerous military awards, including the

Meritorious Service Medal A Meritorious Service Medal is an award presented to denote acts of meritorious service, and sometimes gallantry, that are worthy of recognition. Notable medals with similar names include: *Meritorious Civilian Service Award *Meritorious Service Med ...

and the

Air Force Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fifth ...

. She completed her Air Force service as a Captain in 1994. After her military service, Karinshak attended the

Emory University School of Law Emory University School of Law is the law school of Emory University and is part of the University's main campus in Druid Hills, Atlanta, Georgia. It was founded in 1916 and was the first law school in Georgia to be granted membership in the Am ...

where she was Editor-in-Chief of the Emory Law Journal and graduated with honors. Karinshak then served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable J.L. Edmondson on the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. After completing her clerkship, Karinshak was a litigation associate at Sutherland Asbill and Brennan in Atlanta. She served as an

Assistant United States Attorney An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. Attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal gove ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

from 2003 to 2011, prosecuting fraud, human trafficking, child predators, firearms trafficking, and violent crimes. She also served as Deputy Executive Counsel to Governor

Roy Barnes Roy Eugene Barnes (born March 11, 1948)Cook, James F. (2005). ''The Governors of Georgia, 1754-2004, 3rd Edition, Revised and Expanded.'' Macon, GA: Mercer University Press. is an American attorney and politician who served as the 80th Govern ...

from 1999 to 2003, where she helped change the then-controversial Georgia state flag and managed judicial, military, and law enforcement affairs. Karinshak has served as a partner at the Atlanta-based law firm of Krevolin & Horst, LLC since 2011, where she leads the firm’s whistleblower and white collar criminal defense practices.

Political career

In August 2017, Karinshak announced her candidacy for the Georgia State Senate, seeking to represent the 48th district. She received high-profile endorsements from

President Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

VoteVets VoteVets.org is a political action committee (PAC) and 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization in the United States. The organization prioritizes American defense, national security, and veterans advocacy. It was co-founded in 2006 by Jon Soltz and J ...

, Serve America,

Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Reve ...

, and the

AFL–CIO The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL–CIO) is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 12 million ac ...

. On November 6, 2018, Karinshak was elected to the Georgia State Senate with 53.6% of the vote. She defeated Republican attorney Matt Reeves.

Personal life

Karinshak has lived in Lawrenceville, Georgia since 1994 with her husband, Bruce, and their two children. Bruce works for

the Coca-Cola Company The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation founded in 1892, best known as the producer of Coca-Cola. The Coca-Cola Company also manufactures, sells, and markets other non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups, ...

. Karinshak's husband and two of her four siblings are also military veterans.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Karinshak, Zahra 21st-century American legislators United States Air Force personnel of the Gulf War Democratic Party Georgia (U.S. state) state senators Living people Military personnel from Georgia (U.S. state) Lawyers from Chattanooga, Tennessee Politicians from Chattanooga, Tennessee United States Air Force officers Year of birth missing (living people) Candidates in the 2020 United States House of Representatives elections 21st-century American women politicians Women state legislators in Georgia (U.S. state) American politicians of Iranian descent 20th-century American women Women in the United States Air Force Emory University School of Law alumni 21st-century Georgia (U.S. state) politicians