Full Name
Cara Yar Khan
Job Title
CEO & Founder
Company
The Purple Practice
Speaker Bio
Cara Yar Khan is the official moderator of SYNC25, a professional speaker, former UN humanitarian and White House appointee who served in the U.S. Department of State as a senior advisor on international disability rights. To date, her 25-year career has spanned 11 countries across 5 continents. Today she lives in New York City.
After her 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, Cara Yar Khan established a NYC-based boutique consulting firm, The Purple Practice. In December 2025 the U.S.International Council on Disabilities will present Cara with the Dole-Harkin Award for distinction in public service to the global disability community, joining past recipients Judy Heumann and Senator John McCain.
In her role as a Global Disability Advocate, Cara 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 ParisParalympics 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 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, producer and owner 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. Starting in October 2025, Delta Airlines will screen Facing the Falls as part of its in-flight entertainment worldwide. 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. Based in NYC, Cara serves on the Inclusion Committee for the Times Square Alliance, the Advisory Board of ReelAbilities and the Board of Palms for Life/ Ceres Film Festival.
Finally, Cara 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, and conversational in French, Italian, Portuguese and basic Mandarin Chinese. For more information: https://carayarkhan.com
After her 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, Cara Yar Khan established a NYC-based boutique consulting firm, The Purple Practice. In December 2025 the U.S.International Council on Disabilities will present Cara with the Dole-Harkin Award for distinction in public service to the global disability community, joining past recipients Judy Heumann and Senator John McCain.
In her role as a Global Disability Advocate, Cara 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 ParisParalympics 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 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, producer and owner 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. Starting in October 2025, Delta Airlines will screen Facing the Falls as part of its in-flight entertainment worldwide. 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. Based in NYC, Cara serves on the Inclusion Committee for the Times Square Alliance, the Advisory Board of ReelAbilities and the Board of Palms for Life/ Ceres Film Festival.
Finally, Cara 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, and conversational in French, Italian, Portuguese and basic Mandarin Chinese. For more information: https://carayarkhan.com
Speaking At
