Sara Minkara is a former Ambassador-level U.S. diplomat and global strategist who advises Fortune 500 executives and senior government leaders on disability, authentic leadership, and reimagining the future. 

  

Appointed by President Biden as the U.S. Special Advisor on International Disability Rights, she integrated disability across U.S. foreign policy in more than 70 countries and created the Disability Foreign Policy Playbook, a unified framework for embedding disability within foreign policy priorities across bureaus, embassies, and senior leadership. She advanced disability perspectives in key global arenas, including AI and digital economies, climate, trade, and peace and security. She also led the U.S. Delegation to the G7 Disability Ministerial and elevated disability through APEC, ASEAN, and C5+1. 

  

Sara is the founder and principal of In the Dark, a blindfolded experiential methodology that accelerates decision-making, strengthens communication, and builds high-trust leadership across global corporations and institutions. 

  

Through her independent advisory practice, she guides public- and private-sector leaders on embedding disability within strategy, risk, operations, and emerging domains. 

  

She has developed and is teaching the first-ever course on Disability and Diplomacy at Georgetown University, advancing a new academic and policy frontier and equipping future diplomats with the tools to advance disability in foreign policy.   

  

Previously, Sara founded and led Empowerment Through Integration, a global nonprofit expanding opportunities for youth with disabilities in the Middle East and North Africa. 

  

A graduate of Wellesley and Harvard’s Kennedy School, Sara’s work has been recognized by Forbes 30 under 30, the Clinton Global Initiative, Vital Voices, and the MIT IDEAS Award.