Book Cara Yar Khan through The Keynote Curators

Biography

After Cara Yar Khan’s tenure as a White House Presidential Appointee, serving in the U.S. Department of State as a senior advisor on international disability rights in U.S. foreign policy, she established a NYC-based boutique consulting firm, The Purple Practice, which brokers disability-inclusive impact partnerships and investments. Cara is currently working with UK-based Disability Innovation Hub on the world’s most ambitious scaling vehicle for accessible and assistive technology ventures. The fund aims to raise and invest up to $100 million over the next ten years.

In her role as a Global Disability Advocate, Cara Yar Khan was selected by the Governments of Germany and Jordan – and the International Disability Alliance – to moderate and host the 2025 Global Disability Summit in Berlin and presented at the 2024 Global Citizen Festival in NYC for 60,000 people. Cara also presented at the G7 Ministerial on Inclusion and Disability in Italy and at the 2024 Paris Paralympics Games. In June 2025 Cara will be speaking at the UN Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at events organized by the UK government and the Italian Ministry of Disability.

Cara Yar Khan started her international career in 2001 with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in Ecuador, followed by an executive role in corporate communications for Dell Technologies in Panama. In 2007, Cara joined the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Angola to cultivate corporate partnerships. This led to a year with UNICEF China, and then assignments in Madagascar, Mozambique, Thailand and then two years in Haiti after the devastating 2010 earthquake.

Cara is the participant of the short documentary film, Facing the Falls, directed by Celia Aniskovich, produced by Liz Yale Marsh and executive produced by Hillary Clinton and Chelsea Clinton. Based in NYC, Cara serves on the Inclusion Committee for the Times Square Alliance and the Advisory Board of ReelAbilities. In December 2019 Cara was the closing guest speaker at TED Women presenting, The beautiful balance between courage and fear which has been viewed almost 3 million times and has been translated into 27 languages.

Finally, Cara Yar Khan has a masters degree in International Public Policy from John Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Italy and is accomplished in languages, fluent in Spanish, with working knowledge of French and Portuguese and basic Mandarin Chinese.

Contact us for Cara Yar Khan fees and availability

Read More

Videos

Testimonials

CARA IS MY HERO. SUCCESS IN HER WORK FIGHTING AGAINST DISCRIMINATION, VIOLENCE AND ABUSE AGAINST CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES, COMES FROM HER ALWAYS BEING ABLE TO 'SEE THE CHILD'.
– BARRIE LANDRY, NATIONAL BOARD MEMBER, US FUND FOR UNICEF
WHEN I THINK OF CARA, THE FIRST WORD THAT COMES TO MIND IS EXCELLENCE! MORE THAN JUST ABOUT ANYONE I KNOW, SHE COMES TO EVERY SPACE, IDEA, OR OTHERWISE WITH THIS BAR, EVERY TIME.
– DARRAH BRUSTEIN, TEACHER, CONNECTOR, AUTHOR, FOUNDER
YOU NEED CARA. THE WORLD NEEDS CARA. CARA ELIZABETH YAR KHAN IS A RARE GEM – THE EMBODIMENT OF COURAGE, COMMITMENT, PASSION, BEAUTY, PRESENCE, ALL IN ONE PACKAGE.
– NIGEL FISHER, FORMER UNITED NATIONS ASSISTANT SECRETARY-GENERAL
Request Availability

For Meeting Planners

Get in TouchContact US

Fill out the form so we can best understand your needs.

A representative from The Keynote Curators will reach out to you.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
  • Fill out the form so we can best understand your needs.
    A representative from The Keynote Curators will reach out to you.

  • This field is hidden when viewing the form
  • This field is hidden when viewing the form
  • This field is hidden when viewing the form
  • This field is hidden when viewing the form
  • This field is hidden when viewing the form
  • This field is hidden when viewing the form

Related DE&I – Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Speakers

Blog Posts

Business Culture Is Built in Small Moments, with Chris Dyer

Business Culture Is Built in Small Moments, with Chris Dyer

Chris Dyer explains how everyday leadership moments shape business culture, trust, and whether employees choose to stay.

Read More
25th Anniversary of 9/11

25th Anniversary of 9/11

Twenty-five years is a strange distance. It’s long enough for 9/11 to start sounding like history to people who weren’t alive for it, and close enough that many of us can still say exactly where...

Read More
Why Remote Work Is Quietly Breaking Your Team’s Ability to Innovate

Why Remote Work Is Quietly Breaking Your Team’s Ability to Innovate

Shawn Kanungo explains why remote work quietly damages innovation, even when it boosts individual productivity. Here's the real cost.

Read More
Networking Redefined: Eat, Drink, and Succeed, with Laura Schwartz

Networking Redefined: Eat, Drink, and Succeed, with Laura Schwartz

Laura Schwartz reveals what real networking looks like: service, presence, and community over status and self-interest.

Read More
Toxic Workplace Culture Starts Quietly and Grows in Silence

Toxic Workplace Culture Starts Quietly and Grows in Silence

A toxic workplace rarely starts with cruelty. It starts with silence. Here's how leaders can spot it early and build real trust instead.

Read More
How to Design Events People Actually Remember with Carrie Davenport

How to Design Events People Actually Remember with Carrie Davenport

Carrie Davenport on why great events are built on human connection, not just agendas. Lessons for event planners, leaders, and teams.

Read More
Q4 Isn’t a Marketing Strategy Until Clarity Leads the Way

Q4 Isn’t a Marketing Strategy Until Clarity Leads the Way

Q4 isn't a marketing strategy. It's a test of clarity, judgment, and what your brand chooses to remember when the noise fades.

Read More
What Great Service Looks Like

What Great Service Looks Like

Kevin Boehm explains what real service looks like when plans break, from a rough restaurant table to a blackout mid-speech.

Read More