Originally hailing from North Carolina, Kara Foster experienced the many faces of American education from a young age. She had the opportunity to go to a charter school through her elementary and middle school years, then split her high school education between public and private schools. After graduating high school, she attended the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, studying directing for the stage and earning a Bachelor’s degree in Theatre in 2014. Her professional and academic experience in the simultaneously intricate and hectic intersection of art and logistics cultivated her keen eye for detail and appreciation for organization and efficiency, which have served her well in her career since leaving the stage.

In more recent years, Kara has enthusiastically embraced the dynamic culture of her current home in Austin, Texas, where she applied the formative talents and skills developed during her education into her current profession: accounting. What began as a supplemental day job evolved into a fulfilling career, as she discovered that her meticulous and rigorous approach to the arts was blossoming into a genuine passion for financial data and analysis. A loving pet parent and committed advocate for the non-profit sector, she spent most of her career before coming to 50CAN at organizations promoting animal welfare. Now, she is excited to apply her experience to education, having benefited so much from a diverse educational background. Her trajectory has taught her firsthand how educational opportunities can affect one’s future and love of learning.

Kara spends her free time pursuing her love of fitness through hiking, yoga, and bouldering. She is the doting parent of two beautiful cats, Lolita and Lupin, who provide moral support throughout the work day and contribute the occasional meow of feline wisdom during video calls. When she isn’t climbing rocks or snuggling cats, Kara can usually be found indulging one of her many other hobbies, including crocheting, thrifting, making improvised smoothies from whatever is lying around, and watching or reading anything within the fantasy genre.