Before joining FJI in 2020, Kara was an adjunct professor at City University of New York School of Law (CUNY Law), where she taught legal writing in the lawyering skills program and supervised students in the Family Law Clinic. While teaching, Kara was also a Staff Attorney in the Bronx Defenders’ Family Defense Practice. At Bronx Defenders, she provided holistic representation to parents and caregivers to avoid the severe impacts and collateral consequences that can stem from child welfare involvement.
Kara holds a Juris Doctorate from CUNY Law, where she was a Graduate Fellow and a recipient of the Charles H. Revson Law Student Public Interest Fellowship. While in law school, Kara was a co-chair of Law Students for Reproductive Justice, a member of OutLaws, and a senior staff member of CUNY Law Review, where she published a note, No Access, No Choice: Foster Youth, Abortion, and State Removal of Children. During law school, Kara interned at Brooklyn Defender Services, the Economic Justice Project, Bronx Defenders, and the Center for Appellate Litigation, where she worked on criminal appeals, confinement conditions for incarcerated clients, and parole applications.
Before law school, Kara was a program associate at National Advocates for Pregnant Women and a graduate intern at the National Organization for Women. Kara additionally holds a Bachelors of Arts in Philosophy with Departmental Honors from Seattle University and a Masters of Arts in Ethics & Society from Fordham University.
Kara is a member of the New York Bar and the Florida Bar.