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Ali Noorani will become the next president of the Barr Foundation, succeeding Jim Canales, who will conclude more than 11 years of service upon Noorani’s arrival Dec. 1.
Noorani currently serves as program director of the U.S. Democracy Program at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, one of the nation’s largest private foundations with assets of nearly $14 billion, according to a release Wednesday by the Barr Foundation’s Board of Trustees.
“I am deeply humbled and grateful for the opportunity to lead the Barr Foundation at this moment and to build on its exceptional reputation as an institution that boldly stands in its values of deep and authentic partnership and investment in community,” said Noorani.
Boston-based Barr Foundation works with nonprofits, foundations, the public sector and civic and business leaders to “elevate the arts, advance solutions for climate change and enable all students to discover and actualize their unbounded potential.”
Barbara Hostetter, Barr Foundation co-founder, chair of the board of trustees, and chair of the Presidential Search Committee said of Noorani, “His life’s work has been defined by service, and his values are deeply aligned with the values Amos and I hope will always define Barr—including humility, curiosity and the long-term view that investing in potential and empowering people in communities always requires.”
Barr’s national search began following Canales’s announcement in January. “Through challenges that included a global pandemic, national uprisings for racial justice, and ongoing shifts in the national context, Canales also partnered with Barr’s trustees and staff to affirm the organization’s emphasis on centering racial equity as a core value in its work,” the board said.
In early 2026, Barbara Hostetter will conclude nearly three decades as founding board chair and will remain a trustee. At that time, Canales will assume the board chair role. As previously announced in January, he will also assume full-time responsibilities with Pilot House Associates, the Hostetter’s family office.
Prior to the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Noorani was the chief executive of two separate nonprofits focused on immigration policy. From 2008 to 2022, Noorani served as president and CEO of the National Immigration Forum in Washington. From 2003 until 2008, he was executive director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition. In this role, Noorani led a coalition of organizations across New England dedicated to protecting access to legal rights and opportunities for immigrants and refugees in Massachusetts.
His prior work in Boston included three years as director of public health for Codman Square Health Center and Dorchester House Multi-Service Center and two years as director of the Greater Boston Urban Resources Partnership within the City of Boston’s Environment Department. He is the author of two books exploring the immigration topic, “Crossing Borders” and “There Goes the Neighborhood.”