She is a dedicated advocate for the “Whole Leader” philosophy that recognizes self-care as essential to leadership, ensuring that each Elevate Prize winner receives $50,000 for personal wellbeing in addition to $250,000 for the organization. A strong proponent of increasing visibility for social entrepreneurs, she works to help changemakers scale and deepen their impact on mainstream platforms. Now in its fifth year, under Carolina’s leadership, the Elevate Prize Foundation has generated billions of media impressions for its winners and organizations, with 100% of its winners having increased their fundraising, amplifying their reach and impact worldwide.
Deeply devoted to Miami’s arts community, she co-authored Making Miami with her husband, Vivek Jayaram, celebrating the city’s creative and cultural evolution. Previously, Carolina served as the CEO & President of the National Young Arts Foundation, and prior to that, as President & CEO of United States Artists. She serves on boards and councils focused on gender equity, the arts, and social innovation, including SWWIM, Fast Company’s Social Impact Council, and Georgetown’s Institute for Women, Peace, and Security. A proud Latina of Cuban and Spanish descent, Carolina lives in Miami Beach with her husband and two sons.
What is the Elevate Prize?
Awarded annually, the Elevate Prize is the signature program of the Elevate Prize Foundation, of which I’m very honored to lead. When we first launched the foundation just over five years ago (!), our founder, Joe Deitch, and I decided to address a gaping hole in social impact - visibility. Historically, funding for nonprofits and social impact work did not allow for or encourage investment in marketing, storytelling, branding…anything that would bring the public into this work. Yet, we now know that without these tools, almost no endeavor in the modern world can survive, let alone flourish.
That’s where the Prize now comes in. Each year, we find ten of the best-in-class social impact leaders around the world across all issues (from climate to refugee work or education and beyond) and provide each of them with a robust and tailored two-year program that introduces them and their solutions to mainstream media and audiences who can help them make exponentially more impact. This is what we mean by our mission to Make Good Famous — helping our winners build their platforms to inspire even more audiences worldwide.
We of course also provide critical funding — $250,000 in unrestricted funds to the organization, and $50,000 directly to the leader. The carve out for the winner sends the immediate message that we are invested in their personal wellbeing and health – a philosophy we refer to as Whole Leader – because if we don’t recognize the enormous pressure and demands being placed on them, they will not be able to sustain the critical work our world so desperately needs.
How can our community of executive women support your efforts?
The power of storytelling to build and galvanize audiences who will stand up to oppression and injustice has never been more needed. Women leaders are vital in making sure those stories get made and told in the most authentic and powerful ways.
Only because more women are in leadership positions today, from Melinda Gates to Jacinda Ardern, do we suddenly see both the media and the marketplace talking about menopause, for instance - that was because women demanded that story to be told, by and for women.
Similarly, we need women leaders to invest in social entrepreneurs whose proximity to the issues ensures their effectiveness but who are often hard to find because they aren’t found in mainstream media. To support Elevate and the incredible entrepreneurs in our community, start by following us on social media, in particular YouTube where we have launched Elevate Studios, our new storytelling platform. From there, I invite your community to find and support our incredible leaders - we are always happy to make those connections happen!
What brings you hope right now?
Our winners give me hope! Against all odds, and usually as a direct result of their own experience with injustice, they have created bold, innovative, and powerful solutions that have impacted millions of lives. Consistently since our founding, the majority of the leaders we’ve invested in are women, and their unique approaches are beyond inspiring.
Take Ethiopian badass scientist Fre Tachea, who co-founded Essential Impact and is developing a breakthrough climate-resistant protein that will be a gamechanger for addressing malnutrition; or Hannah Fried, whose organization All Voting is Local continues to bravely advocate for voters of color and other marginalized communities (every year – not just during election years!).
Do you have one secret to your success?
Devotion to practices like yoga and meditation that help me maintain my inner peace. Daily rituals are so vital to maintaining our focus and endurance in our work and personal lives; and, yet, they are so often the first items on the chopping block when we feel overwhelmed or stressed. Maintaining those practices is a continual exercise and challenge, but one I’ve increasingly learned to appreciate and rely on.
Who is a woman you admire?
I have deep admiration for any woman who identifies a major injustice and, in turn, figures out how to harness her own skills and resources to address it. One woman I think is doing that better than most is Elevate Prize winner Dr. Aparna Hegde, a Mumbai-based urogynecologist who founded ARMMAN, a brilliant solution that pairs “tech + touch” to deliver fast and efficient healthcare to pregnant women, their families, and newborns through mobile technology and relationship-building. To date, the organization’s work has led to hundreds of thousands of lives saved.
What’s one thing you can’t live without?
Sunshine!
What is one big trend you’re excited about in 2025?
With many things feeling beyond our control and the forces of technology speeding up life at unprecedented levels, I love that we are again talking about the power of building our local communities, gathering in person and connecting on a more human level.
From the national level with the Town Halls across the country to even in my own backyard with a special day — Give Miami Day — focusing on bringing together all the community organizations of our beloved city, these in-person, human gatherings are keeping me going. Community is the superpower that will get us through the next few years.
What book or film/show has been the most impactful in your career or life?
The Women’s Room, by Marilyn French, which I fished out of the dollar bin at Borders Bookstore when I was 15 in Florida. I had never read any feminist literature before that, and it completely reoriented my brain and set me on a path of female empowerment and agency I haven’t veered from since.
