Announcing Barr’s New Director of Education

I am delighted to announce the appointment of Leah Hamilton as Barr’s new Director of Education.

Leah joins Barr from Carnegie Corporation of New York, where she is currently program director for the New Designs for K–16 Pathways, National Program. In that leadership role, Leah directs approximately $25 million in annual grantmaking and oversees a portfolio of activity supporting innovative practices and policies to drive greater academic achievement for low-income and minority students nationwide.

Prior to joining Carnegie in 2009, Leah served as executive director of the Office of Multiple Pathways to Graduation in the New York City Department of Education, during Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s administration. This was a new office created to increase graduation rates of students struggling in the NYC schools. Leah’s rigorous, thoughtful, strategic approach led to major new public and private investments to expand the program.

A graduate of Williams College, Leah earned joint advanced degrees (MBA and MSW) at Columbia University. She has also been a Fellow in Entrepreneurial Leadership in Public Education at the Aspen Institute.

I could not be more pleased by this outcome. Throughout our extensive search, we sought to identify a leader who could both work with our trustees to shape a new education strategy and lead us in the implementation of that strategy. In multiple leadership roles in education, Leah has demonstrated her capacity to develop focused strategies, a rigorous use of data and information to drive decision-making, and an ability to build and manage teams in effective ways. I am confident we have identified the right leader for Barr at this stage in our evolution.

I look forward to introducing Leah in person to many of our partners and colleagues, following her arrival at Barr on May 4.