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Kara is a deliriously happy mother and lives with her family in Chicago. She is also a talented facilitator, passionate speaker and diversity consultant.
Kara’s two lives merged when she founded Mindhearted, Inc., a resource dedicated to building better communities through diversity education for all who connect with children. After a long career working with Fortune 500 companies and nonprofits, she developed a passion for igniting meaningful dialogue with individuals who cultivate the best from diversity.
After hearing client statements such as, “Wow! I didn’t realize how much my parents influenced my attitudes” or, “I can really use this new information in my own home for parenting my children,” coupled with her own family needs, she expanded her practice into the parenting arena. By providing educational, informative and fun forums for parents to have conversations about difference, her vision for parents to raise open-minded, empathetic and compassionate children became a reality called Mindhearted, Inc.
Kara has advised a range of clients in both the public and private sector. Her clients include ParentsWork, Mocha Moms, Inc., Association of Consultants to Nonprofits, Near North Montessori School, Chicago Jobs Council and Commonground Marketing, LLC. In her former life she worked with organizations including JetBlue Airlines, PECO (an Exelon Company), Microsoft Corporation, YMCA of the USA, IPA and Moraine Valley Community College.
Kara is an advisory board member of the Open Book Program, a not-for-profit focused on children’s literacy and serves on the Board of Directors of Notre Dame High School for Girls, both based in Chicago. Additionally, she is a court-approved mediator for Iroquois and Kankakee County Court Systems in Illinois and volunteers with the Kankakee Center for Conflict Resolution.
She received her B.S. in speech communication from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and an M.A. in communication specializing in multicultural communication and corporate communication from DePaul University. In addition, Kara has completed courses in diversity facilitation, strategy and consultative skills at National Training Labs (NTL) and the Summer Institute for Intercultural Communications (SIIC).
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