Caralena (Cara) Peterson is a speaker and writer educating both students and their parents on the “Effortless Perfection” Myth and the mental health crisis it has spurred on campuses across the United States, especially amongst women. Known as the Effortless Perfection expert, she has written about the Myth -- the intense pressure to accomplish it all but seem as if it took no effort -- for places like Inside Higher Ed, The Week, Teen Vogue, She Knows Media, Ms. Magazine, Rewire News, and Bustle, and dives deeper into all of its effects and solutions in her book, "The Effortless Perfection Myth: Debunking the Myth and Revealing the Path to Empowerment for Today’s College Women."

Peterson earned her B.A. in Women’s Studies and Public Policy at Duke University and her M.A. at the Middlebury Bread Loaf School of English. She has spoken to audiences including TEDx, Duke, Cornell, Harvard, Middlebury, Tulane, Amazon GoodReads, and the National Women's History Museum, among others, and appeared on news programs such as "Good Morning Washington" and PIX11.

Peterson is a middle and high school English and history teacher. She is also a mixed-medium artist whose work has appeared in The New York Times and Washington Life Magazine.

Authors, Non-Fiction Authors, Youth, Youth Development Feminism, Women's Empowerment, Mental Health, College, Artists, Education,