Lynn Harwell

Lynn Harwell (she | her) is Chief Operating Officer at the Barr Foundation, where she leads the enterprise-wide operational infrastructure that enables the Foundation’s mission and grantmaking.

Lynn oversees core functions including grants management and contracts administration, legal and compliance, knowledge management and systems, and workplace operations. She works in close partnership with shared-service teams across accounting, finance, and technology.

Lynn partners closely with the President and leadership team to translate strategy into clear operating approaches, coordinated execution, and strong institutional governance.

In her role, Lynn helps ensure that Barr’s people, processes, and systems are aligned to support effective, responsible, and equitable philanthropy. She leads efforts to strengthen decision-making, cross-functional collaboration, and organizational learning across the Foundation. This includes advancing how Barr manages knowledge and data, and thoughtfully integrating emerging technologies to support learning, clarity, and impact.

Drawing on experience across the public, nonprofit, and private sectors, Lynn focuses on building organizations that are both high-performing and adaptable. She prioritizes operational clarity, strong collaboration, and systems that support inclusion and long-term impact.

Before joining Barr, Lynn held senior executive and administrative roles in biomedical research, technology, and media and entertainment. She began her career as a tax CPA and later earned a JD from Harvard Law School and an MBA from Harvard Business School. She also holds a BS in Business Administration from Boston University.