Barbara is a public service and system change leader with 25 years of experience in creating strategy, funding, implementing, and scaling new programs; building and nurturing high performing teams; program development, delivery, and assessment; cultivating trauma inclusive, youth and community-centered practices and racial justice and equity; development and implementation of innovative outreach and recruitment strategies; coalition building, policy analysis, and creative problem solving to promote system change; and forging relationships with donors and partners for effective fundraising and philanthropy. Drawing on experience as Executive Director of the Harvard Kennedy School Center for Public Leadership and leadership roles at the local, state, and national levels of the Children’s Defense Fund, Barbara empowers mission driven organizations and cross sector leaders to catalyze transformational change while advancing equity and sustainability.Barbara spent 7 years at the Harvard Kennedy School Center for Public Leadership. As Executive Director, she led a high performing team of 30 staff to develop and implement cutting-edge leadership development programs for emerging global leaders. She supported cross-Harvard faculty-led initiatives on adaptive leadership, negotiation, behavioral insights, social innovation and change, impact investing, organizing, and social justice. Barbara led the rapid expansion of public service graduate fellowship programs, from 51 fellows in academic year 2013 – 2014 to 118 in 2018 – 2019. She developed innovative outreach campaigns and robust talent pipelines to recruit diverse and talented students to Harvard and prepare them for lives of public service leadership - with 32% of fellows from outside of the United States, representing 29 countries; 36% U.S. students of color; and 53% women.Barbara spent 13 years at the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF), including ten years in CDF's Texas office, rising from outreach coordinator to Texas Executive Director, opening offices in Houston and the Rio Grande Valley region along the Mexican border, and mobilizing regional coordinators in ten Texas cities to restore health coverage to 176,000 uninsured Texas children. As Director of Foundation Relations and Special Projects, she cultivated and stewarded relationships with national foundations and led strategic initiatives including a partnership with the American Association of School Administrators and school districts in four states to systematically identify uninsured children and link them with health coverage.