Katherine Parr is an American strategic advisor, entrepreneur, speaker, and Fulbright Specialist.
Her work focuses on advancing entrepreneurship, women's economic opportunity, and workforce development through education, innovation, and cross-sector collaboration.
Through Katherine Parr Advisory, she advises public and private sector organizations, international institutions, governments, universities, foundations, and mission-driven enterprises on strategies that strengthen entrepreneurial ecosystems, develop talent, and connect education with sustainable economic opportunity. Her work bridges economic development, the creative economy, and private sector growth, with a particular focus on helping women and emerging entrepreneurs build resilient businesses.
Most recently, Katherine has served as a consultant to the International Trade Centre (ITC), where she supports fashion entrepreneurship, small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) development, and ecosystem-building initiatives in Jordan. Previously, she was awarded a Fulbright Specialist appointment by the U.S. Department of State, advising university leadership, faculty, and students on entrepreneurship education and workforce development within the creative economy.
Before her advisory career, Katherine founded and led two internationally recognized businesses rooted in the philosophy of Ethical Luxury, creating transparent global supply chains while bringing artisan-made products to premium markets. Her work has connected design, sustainability, and economic empowerment, with projects spanning jewelry, interiors, and collaborations with international nonprofit organizations supporting artisans.
Katherine's professional journey began in the international fashion industry, where she worked as a model and within leading fashion houses in New York and Europe. That experience provided a unique understanding of global consumer markets, branding, and creative enterprise that continues to inform her advisory work today.
Her commitment to education and social impact led her to leave the fashion industry to teach in a Title I public school district in New Jersey, where she developed educational programs and established a cross-cultural partnership between American students and schools in the Middle East through the United Nations Girls' Education Initiative. Since then, she has continued advising organizations dedicated to expanding educational access, entrepreneurship, and economic empowerment.
Katherine currently serves on the Global Advisory Council of Education for Employment (EFE), supporting efforts to expand youth employment and entrepreneurship across the Middle East and North Africa. She also advises nonprofit organizations, universities, philanthropists, and private sector leaders seeking practical, measurable approaches to workforce development, entrepreneurship, and inclusive economic growth.
Whether advising institutions, speaking internationally, or developing entrepreneurial ecosystems, Katherine's work is guided by a simple belief: sustainable economic opportunity is created when education, enterprise, and cross-sector collaboration are intentionally connected.