Kara Kennedy

Kara Gomez is a seasoned operator with over ten years of experience working with startups and accelerators, and an impressive background in accounting and small business finance. Currently the Director of Startup Programs at Alley, a social impact-focused innovation agency, she leads the Verizon Forward for Good Accelerator, which focuses on disability innovation. Throughout her career, she has held a variety of roles at Techstars, including VP of Accelerator Program Management, Sr. Director of Accelerator Operations in Americas East, Director of Network Operations, and Accelerator Program Manager of Techstars Cloud in San Antonio and Techstars Music in Los Angeles. Her work in these positions helped to support the success of entrepreneurs globally, and she developed scalable practices for managing a large, distributed team. Prior to her work in the tech industry, Kara worked in small business accounting and finance, serving as a Portfolio Accountant at Capital Guardian Trust Company and holding multiple roles focused on accounting, risk management, and small business finance for dozens of companies and investment vehicles at a family office in San Antonio. She earned a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Project Management and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from The University of Texas at San Antonio, and she studied nutrition and corporate fitness at Sam Houston State University. In her free time, she has experimented with starting small businesses around her hobbies, including a photography business focused on labor and delivery, baking and selling wedding cakes, being a former foster parent, and her current obsession with birding and nature habitats.