Kara Hinesley is the global Head of Public Policy and Government Affairs at Canva. She manages the company’s public policy agenda with government, regulators, NGOs, and civil society groups on a diverse range of tech and digital issues.

A graduate of Texas A&M University, Quinnipiac University, the University of Sydney, and an LLM candidate at the Australian National University, she holds dual legal credentials in the United States and Australia as a licensed attorney and solicitor.


Before joining Canva, Kara was Director of Public Policy, Government, and Philanthropy at Twitter, Inc. There she oversaw policy strategy across the Asia-Pacific region while playing an active role in leading the company’s response to the Christchurch Call and acting as the global lead for Twitter’s #DataforGood program, which leveraged Twitter data to work towards achieving the UN Sustainable Development goals.


She held board positions on the Digital Industry Group Inc. and also previously worked as a senior media and policy advisor in the Australian Government.