Kara Blackburn

Kara Blackburn is a Senior Lecturer in Managerial Communication at the MIT Sloan School of Management and an affiliate of MIT Sloan's Leadership Center. She specializes in courses addressing equity, inclusion, and effective communication strategies, including Leading the Way: Perspectives on Advancing Equity and Inclusion and Tough Conversations: Science, Strategies & Skills. Her work emphasizes organizational strategies to advance marginalized groups and frameworks for navigating workplace challenges. She also teaches in MIT Sloan’s Executive Education programs and leads study tours in South America, Africa, and Asia-Pacific regions.

Blackburn has received notable awards, including the Jamieson Prize (2019), Teaching with Digital Technology Award (2020), and MIT Sloan Teacher of the Year (2023). Her research interests span leadership development, DEI initiatives, and innovative communication pedagogy. She mentors teams in Global Entrepreneurship Lab (G-Lab) and China/India Lab courses, contributing to global business education.

Her Executive Education courses, such as Interpersonal Communication and Global Executive Academy, focus on scalable communication strategies and leadership in diverse contexts. Blackburn’s academic contributions include designing programs like the Communications Lab and ID Lab, which challenge traditional leadership paradigms through experiential learning.