Carolina Garcia Jayaram

As CEO of the Elevate Prize Foundation, Carolina leads a bold mission to amplify the world’s most dynamic changemakers — equipping them not only with catalytic funding, but also with the visibility and storytelling power needed to scale their influence and deepen their reach. Under her leadership, the foundation has garnered billions of media impressions and helped organizations increase their funding by an average of over 60%, proving that narrative is not just a tool for impact — it’s a multiplier. A lifelong advocate for the arts and social justice, she is part of pioneering a model of leadership centered on wellbeing and resilience, championing what she calls “Whole Leaders” — changemakers who understand that inner liberation is inseparable from outer impact.

In 2024, she and her husband, attorney and cultural entrepreneur Vivek Jayaram, produced Making Miami — a landmark exhibition and archival book capturing the seminal years that shaped Miami’s emergence as a global art capital. Her leadership in the arts also includes tenures as CEO of the National YoungArts Foundation and CEO of United States Artists. She currently serves on several boards and councils dedicated to gender equity, social innovation, and the arts, including University of Miami’s School of Law EASL Program, SWWIM, Fast Company’s Social Impact Council, and Georgetown University’s Institute for Women, Peace, and Security. A devoted yogi and Vipassana meditation practitioner and teacher, Carolina integrates mindfulness into every facet of her leadership. A proud Latina, she lives in Miami Beach with her husband and their two sons, Rafael and Roman.