Dr. Kara Ireland D’Ambrosio is an Adjunct Professor of Music Education, MA Advisor, and Integrated Performing Arts Across the Curriculum at San Jose State University. She also teaches music (TK-8) at Woodside School, where she won a Grammy Gold in 2002 for Excellence in Music Education. Kara has special interest in Humanistic Pedagogy, JEDI (justice equity diversity, inclusion), Anti-Racist Arts, Social-Emotional Learning, preservice education, and interventions for income inequality. Recently, she has collaborated in writing a chapter for the Oxford Handbook of Care in Music Education.
Kara served two terms on Bay Section CMEA Board (Special Representative for Classroom music, 2006-2010 and Higher Ed Representative 2017-2021) and is currently serves on the state CMEA Council of Representatives (Higher Ed).
For the past several years, Kara has been the chair of the CCTE Field Placement Forum. This forum connects field placement coordinators in order to provide networking and professional development with the outcome of cultivating supportive, strong credential program leaders across the CA university credential programs. As a CCTE Board Member, she values working with educational leaders from the diverse California communities.