About Cara Shelton

Cara Shelton is a strategist, scholar-practitioner, and transformational leader who sits at the intersection of people, purpose, and performance. A Certified Dream Manager and seasoned coach since 2012, Cara brings more than a decade of experience helping individuals and organizations align ambition with impact. She holds the Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) credential from HRCI and is known for her ability to translate complex human capital challenges into practical, people-centered solutions that drive results. Her work is grounded in a deep commitment to helping people live whole, intentional lives at work and beyond.

Cara’s career spans human resources, public relations, sales, and marketing across multiple industries, giving her a rare, enterprise-wide perspective on how talent, culture, and strategy converge. She specializes in talent acquisition and is currently designing a DEI&B framework that embeds equity, belonging, and accountability into organizational systems. As a facilitator and educator, Cara has led leadership development programs and workshops for organizations including INROADS, KDM POP Solutions Group, Convergys Corporation, the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce and faith-based institutions, equipping leaders to lead with clarity, courage, and conscience. 

A lifelong learner, Cara earned her Bachelor of Arts in Communication from the University of Cincinnati, where she was selected as both a Darwin T. Turner Scholar and a University of Cincinnati Honors Scholar. She holds a Master of Business Leadership and Innovation from Northern Kentucky University and is currently completing her Doctor of Business Administration at Johnson & Wales University, with a focus on leadership, organizational transformation, and innovation. 

Beyond the boardroom, Cara is an ordained elder with over two decades of ministry experience in the United States and abroad, including Israel and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She is also a recording artist and recently completed the live recording of her second album, The Sound. 

Cara is the author of Too Beautiful for the Earth, a deeply moving account of losing her twin daughters and navigating grief with faith, resilience, and honesty. The book has resonated with parents, leaders, and organizations seeking language for loss and a pathway toward healing. Through her writing, speaking, and consulting, Cara creates brave spaces where grief, growth, leadership, and humanity are not in conflict, but in conversation.

She is married to her husband Kevin and is the proud mother of two angel daughters, Kasiah and Kaydence, and two living children, Kaden and Camdyn. Cara and her family reside in Cincinnati, Ohio.

“Don’t ask for permission to be great. Just do it.”
— Cara Shelton