Carla Dirlikov Canales is a Fellow at the Social Innovation and Change Initiative with global experience bridging cultures through performing arts. A social advocate and cultural entrepreneur, Carla is the founder of The Canales Project, an arts advocacy organization that uses performance and music to address issues and promote conversation about cultural exchange and identity worldwide. The Project includes Hear Her Song, a musical celebration of distinguished female leaders worldwide that commissions new songs written by female composers to honor them.
She served as co-creator, CEO, and artistic director of programming for the CultureSummit, a forum held in Abu Dhabi to convene arts and policy leaders from around the world on issues of cultural diplomacy, and is also a long-time arts envoy for the U.S. Department of State. Carla has been a guest speaker/lecturer at Harvard University, Berklee College of Music, Aspen Institute, and TEDxMidAtlantic. She is fluent in Spanish, French, Italian, German, and English.