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Kara Lamb is the Community Visioning 2030 Program Manager for the Climate Democracy Initiative where she leads strategic engagement to help communities shape equitable, resilient, and locally grounded climate futures. She specializes in building trust across diverse stakeholders, managing crisis communications, and translating science, security, and government policy into accessible narratives that empower people, inform decision-making, and bolster democratic processes.
With 25+ years of experience in public and private sector communications, media, and environmental policy, Kara brings to CDI a specialization in natural resources, infrastructure, and community-based solutions. She has a track record of building programs from the ground up, guiding complex public processes, and making science, security, and government resources accessible to the communities most impacted. A veteran of federal civil service, Kara has worked with communities negotiating water development with the Bureau of Reclamation, the Fish & Wildlife Service and EPA, building cyber and physical security resilience with CISA, FEMA, and FBI, and navigating transmission lines with the Western Area Power Administration at DOE. Through her work in Western water issues, public health, and renewable energy, she has developed platforms anchored in value communication for empowering local voices.
Kara completed her undergraduate work in both English and Philosophy at California Lutheran University and holds a Master’s degree in Philosophy with a concentration in Environmental Ethics from Colorado State University, where she published her master’s thesis: "From Philosophy to Policy: Is There a Missing Link in Environmental Ethics?" Chapters of her thesis have since been published in the Social Science Journal and graduate level text books.
Not always a policy wonk, Kara started her career in entertainment, editing comic books for Malibu Comics, Inc., where she learned the value of storytelling. To this day, she is a fan of superhero narratives and enjoys debating antihero ethics with her sons. In her free time, you can find Kara hiking with her dog, Queso, enjoying live music, or catching up with family and friends.