Kara Inae Carlisle

Kara Carlisle’s whole career has been place-based, with chapters in southern California, rural New Mexico, Minnesota, and now in Oregon and Siskiyou County, California. Starting out in nonprofits, she served in numerous roles—writing grants, leading communications, human resources, evaluation and more. Much of her work focused on nonprofit sustainability, the mediation of economic and cultural conflict, and on seeing and understanding how communities effect change. “How can I help someone if I haven’t done it myself?”

Joining philanthropy, Kara held fast to building community and getting things done at a time when many funders sought the next evolution of service, strategy and civic engagement. She authored the W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s first guide to place-based philanthropy and dove into deep listening with community to align strategy with greater impact at the McKnight Foundation.

Kara holds a master’s in business administration from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, as well as a master of divinity degree in Urban Studies and Education from Claremont School of Theology. She earned her bachelor’s at Anderson University in Indiana. She serves on the boards of Foundations for a Better Oregon, Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement, and the National Center for Family Philanthropy.