Kara DeFrias was selected as a Presidential Innovation Fellow for Project MyGov as part of the new White House Presidential Innovation Fellows program.

The program pairs top innovators from the private sector, nonprofits, and academia with top innovators in government to collaborate on solutions that aim to deliver significant results in six months.

The purpose of Project MyGov is to reimagine how citizens interact with government through an experience designed around their needs rather than a confusing and fragmented bureaucracy.

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This is the first in a series introducing 18 Fellows working on five initiatives that are part of the White House Presidential Innovation Fellows program.
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DeFrias has a passion for creating engaging experiences, both online and off.

She most recently served as TurboTax UX (user experience) strategist and Intuit Innovation Catalyst, influencing the voice of TurboTax.com and empowering Intuit’s employees to utilize design thinking in their project work. Kara also provided pro bono social media services to TEDxSanDiego and Team Rubicon.

Prior to that, Kara’s career spanned nearly a decade working in corporate learning and development. She also worked in entertainment and pro sports, most notably on the Super Bowl Halftime Show, Women’s World Cup ’99, and an Emmy-award-winning production of the Oscars.

Raised in Burlington, NJ, Kara earned a BA in English (minor in Theatre) from Elizabethtown College and graduated summa cum laude from Penn State University with a Master’s degree in instructional design. Kara lives in San Diego, CA.

Follow Project MyGov on Twitter: @ProjectMyGov