Kara Blakey M.Ed | Education Designer, Trainer, and Leader

Independent contracting services specializing in personalized, competency-based education design aimed at empowering individuals to upskill and excel in the 21st century.


See My Portfolio ⟶

Areas of Expertise

  • Project Based Learning

  • Competency Based Learning

  • Social Emotional Learning

  • College & Career Readiness

  • Equity Based Learning

As an educator with 11 years of classroom experience, curriculum design, instructional design, and educational content writing, I have developed subject matter expertise in the following areas:

  • 21st Century Skills Development

  • Immersive Learning

  • Adult Learning Theory

  • Curriculum Training & Coaching

  • Differentiated Learning

  • Human Centered Design

  • Adult Learning Theory

  • Assessment Creation & Analysis

  • Authoring Tools & Multimedia Software

  • ELA/ELD Curriculum Creation

Who Do I Work With?

I work with educational organizations that are looking to revolutionize the way we approach teaching adult and student learners alike. Individuals who understand that learning should be personalized, patient, and purposeful. I am passionate about collaborating with a dynamic team of educational professionals who play essential roles in shaping competency-based, personalized learning and skills curriculum.

I love working with:

  • Learning Designers to craft engaging and effective learning pathways and create blueprints for transformative educational experiences.

  • Instructional Designers to blend technology and pedagogy and design interactive, immersive, engaging, and accessible learning materials tailored to individual learner needs.

  • Curriculum Developers to create, and fine-tune educational materials that empower learners with essential skills ensuring that the curriculum is comprehensive, up-to-date, and aligned with real-world demands.

  • Product Innovators to aid in developing cutting-edge platforms and software that enable personalized learning, data-driven insights, and adaptive experiences in order to empower educators and learners.

See What My Clients Are Saying

  • “We have contracted with Kara for the past 6 years and have always found her to be incredibly responsive, easy to work with, and effective. She quickly gets up to speed on the area of need and then jumps into providing help. We are always grateful for her professionalism and flexibility."

    — Allison Greeney | VP Customer Success PAIRIN

  • I’ve had the pleasure of working with Kara Blakey on a number of projects over the past two years including the launch of a digital platform designed to assist middle and high school students find success in life. Kara was the lead author on over 60 individual outcomes that are now guiding our next generation. She is a rare combination of educational visionary and practical executioner. Regardless of the project, I never doubt her work will exceed expectations.

    Jan Sikorsky | VP Product Innovation WorldStrides

  • I’ve known Kara Blakey for 11 years, working with her in different capacities across multiple organizations. As much as I just plain enjoy working with Kara, given her dedication, optimism, and sense of humor, these are just a few of many reasons she has continued to be my go-to resource. I’ve seen first hand, as she has provided instructional design services for me across three different projects, Kara’s ability to navigate complexity and uncertainty - with a smile. She asks all the necessary questions, and then, she executes with high quality. On time. Every time. Kara is efficient, flexible, positive, and endlessly patient in the face of the inevitable challenges that arise on projects. I cannot recommend her highly enough

    Tara Laughlin | Senior Education Designer Education Design Lab

  • Education Design Lab (Lab) is a national non-profit that uses human-centered design thinking to co-design models in response to wicked issues the create inequities in the learn-earn continuum. Kara Blakely was an instrumental contributor to the Lab’s XCredit project, which elevates the skills that individuals have gained through lived experiences. Central to this work is the development of simulation and extended reality assessments. We were delighted that Kara invested her creative energy, talent in script writing, and ability to utilize technology tools to design phenomenal final products that have now been deployed to elevate opportunities for adult opportunity seekers. Grateful and appreciative of all of Kara’s efforts, she demonstrated her strong collaboration, creative problem solving, and expertise, as a key producer. Her talent and ability has made the Lab team and resulting work better and more impactful.

    Naomi Boyer | Sr. VP, Digital Transformation at Education Design Lab