Rory Neuner

Rory Neuner joined Barr in 2020 to strengthen the Foundation’s learning and evaluation efforts and manage its Sector Effectiveness – Infrastructure portfolio. As senior learning officer, she is a core member of Barr’s Learning + Evaluation Team and primary liaison to the Climate Program, helping sharpen strategy and amplify impact. She also leads Barr’s Sector Effectiveness grantmaking and field-building work to support a thriving nonprofit and philanthropic sector.

Rory brings two decades of experience in the social sector. Most recently, she served as Evaluation Officer at the Michigan Health Endowment Fund, where she built capacity-building programs to advance strong, equitable evaluation practice across the Fund’s ecosystem of grantees and consultants. Previously, she was a consultant at Public Sector Consultants, advising philanthropic and nonprofit organizations, and worked at the Michigan Environmental Council to build coalitions and advance transportation, environmental justice, and health policy.

Rory serves on the advisory boards of the Center for Effective Philanthropy and Expanding the Bench, and is co-chair of the 2026 Grantmakers for Effective Organizations National Conference. She holds a Master of Public Policy from the University of Chicago Harris School and a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Yale University. She lives in Providence, Rhode Island, with her wife and daughters and, in her spare time, is a college soccer referee.