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.
