Kara Stein

Kara Stein

Director, Public Programs

Kara Stein is Director of Public Programs at The Aspen Institute based in Washington, D.C. She is responsible for content development and execution of a variety of public facing programs and events, including the annual Aspen Ideas Festival.  

Prior to joining The Aspen Institute, Kara was the Vice President of Policy & Program at the American Constitution Society, a national organization of lawyers, law students, policymakers, judges, and scholars that generates intellectual capital and shapes debate on key law and policy issues. She also served as the Director of Legal Advocacy at the American Jewish Committee (AJC) in New York, where she was responsible for developing agency policy and filing amicus briefs in matters concerning church-state separation, religious liberty, equal protection, national security, and civil rights. 

Kara received her B.A. in History from Johns Hopkins University, her J.D. from New York University School of Law, and her M.P.A. from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. She resides in Bethesda, MD with her husband and son.