Cara is is a Registered Psychological Associate currently pursuing her PsyD in Applied Clinical Psychology at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. She received her M.A. in Psychology from Pepperdine University and her B.A. in Psychology from the University of California, Irvine.
Cara played Division I Women’s Water Polo at USC and UCI. While at USC, she helped her team become the 2015 Women’s Water Polo MPSF Champions and placed third in the NCAA Championship tournament. While at UCI, Cara led her team to earn the title of Big West Champions in both 2017 and 2018. In high school, she was a two-time State Champion, All-state first-team honoree, 2014 OC Athlete of the Year, member of the All-CIF and ODP U.S. Youth National Teams.
Cara has 12 years experience coaching age group (2-18 years old) swimming and water polo, as well as 3 years experience at the collegiate level. She has developed players currently playing for our USA Women’s Water Polo National Team. From 2014-18 she coached at Laguna Beach High School where she was an assistant to the varsity squad and junior varsity head coach, highlighted by the women’s team’s 2018 CIF-SS Division-I crown. She also coached at SET Aquatics, helping the 16U A team to the 2018 Junior Olympics Championship and the 16U B team to eighth place at the 2018 Junior Olympics, making them the first-ever B team to place in the top ten. In 2018 Cara was named the assistant coach for the Division I Men’s and Women’s water polo programs at Princeton University. During her time at Princeton, the Men’s team won the 2019 NWPC Championship and made an appearance at the NCAA Championship tournament.
Cara’s experience as an athlete, coach, and mentor has given her a well-rounded perspective on the challenges athletes face. She uses an integrative approach to guide athletes through their fear of failure, performance anxiety, and pressure to perform. Her empathy goes beyond competition. Cara cares deeply about athletes having a positive experience in sports, and she helps them foster a sense of stability, resilience, and identity along the way.