Karla is a writer and cultural critic with a background in government public affairs and communication consulting. She also is a professor of teaching and research, specializing in political communication. Karla began her work with the federal government, working for The Defense Intelligence Agency as the analytic outreach and strategic engagements director. She developed and implemented the U.S. Central Command's first Outreach and Strategic Engagements Program. Mastracchio currently serves as senior strategist of defense innovation/strategic communication for The Tatitlek Corporation. Karla earned both her master's degree and Ph.D. in communication studies from the University of Iowa in 2005 and 2012, respectively.