Kara Napolitano is a human rights advocate and trainer specializing in human trafficking prevention and response. She holds a Master’s degree in International Development with a focus on International Human Rights Law from the University of Denver. Before graduate school, she spent eight years working across Africa, the Middle East, and Asia with education‑focused NGOs in post‑conflict settings, where she first encountered the complexities of trafficking.
Kara was appointed to the Governor’s Colorado Human Trafficking Council Prevention Task Force in 2018 and the Equitable Access Task Force in 2022, and she currently serves as a commissioner on the Denver Crime Prevention and Control Commission. As the Education and Partnerships Director at the Laboratory to Combat Human Trafficking, she has trained more than 50,000 professionals across Colorado. Kara collaborates with healthcare providers, law enforcement, legal advocates, and youth‑serving professionals to strengthen statewide strategies that prevent exploitation, support survivors, and promote accountability.
