Carla Canales has created and led programs on cultural diplomacy policy, practiced at leading universities worldwide, and has served as an Arts Envoy for the United States Department of State since 2005. In addition, she has won acclaim on leading stages around the globe as an opera singer while also being recognized with multiple awards and honors for her work as an arts advocate and entrepreneur. 
 
Prior to joining the Biden Administration, Canales oversaw cultural diplomacy initiatives at both Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. She is currently a Social Innovation+Change Initiative Fellow at the Center for Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School where she also teaches. Additionally, she is the recipient of the Advanced Leadership Initiative Fellowship at Harvard and the youngest fellow in the history of the program. 

During the Obama Administration, Canales served as a member of the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities’ Turnaround Arts program. In 2015, she was selected by Foreign Policy Magazine as one of its 100 Leading Global Thinkers, and in 2014 she was awarded the Medal of Excellence from the Sphinx Organization, which was presented at the Supreme Court by Justice Sotomayor. Canales was also named one of Musical America’s 30 Movers and Shapers. In each case, she was the first opera singer ever to receive these honors. In 2021, Canales became a member of the Recording Academy. 

As a classical singer, Canales has been in demand for her portrayal of Bizet’s Carmen, a role she has performed over 80 times in 12 countries. In other leading roles and as a concert singer, she has performed on five continents including, in the U.S., performances at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall, Carnegie Hall, and the Kennedy Center.

Canales is the founder of The Canales Project, a nonprofit arts and advocacy organization focusing on addressing issues of identity and culture. 

She has been a guest speaker/lecturer at the United Nations, U.S. Conference of Mayors, Americans for the Arts, Oxford University, William and Mary, SciencesPo (Paris), Aspen Institute, and TEDxMidAtlantic. She has been a guest opinion writer for USA Today and the New York Times, and has published articles and book chapters on cultural diplomacy. 

She is fluent in Spanish, French, Italian, German, and English and is currently working on achieving proficiency in Mandarin.