Lisa Jacobson to Join Barr Foundation Climate Team

The Barr Foundation today announced the appointment of Lisa Jacobson as program officer for Climate. In this new role, Lisa will focus on Barr’s newly-released Mobility strategies, with the goal of reducing transportation-related emissions. Lisa will begin on August 9 and report to Mary Skelton Roberts, senior program officer.

Lisa is currently a senior associate at Nelson\Nygaard, a transportation planning firm dedicated to promoting vibrant, sustainable, and accessible communities, where she works with clients in the Greater Boston area and across the country on a variety of transportation projects. Her expertise is in multimodal, parking, and transportation-demand management planning. She is thrilled to have the opportunity to apply her skills locally to advance sustainable transportation. In her role at Nelson\Nygaard, she has worked closely with policy-makers, elected officials, and community members to effectively implement improvements to regional mobility.

“For the past seven years, I’ve been working with dozens of communities as a consultant, managing complex projects to help support great places,” said Lisa. “I am drawn to projects that demand creative solutions to improve transportation in the Boston region. I look forward to bringing my experience to the Barr Foundation’s Mobility team and grantees as we invest in the future of our transportation system and advance Barr’s Mobility strategies.”

“I am thrilled that Lisa will be joining the Climate team. She brings a dedication to developing creative mobility solutions, along with the ability to partner effectively with local stakeholders to apply those solutions," said Mary Skelton Roberts. "Her addition to the Barr team will contribute to the transformation we need in this region in how people move around and build our communities.”

“I am thrilled that Lisa will be joining the Climate team. She brings a dedication to developing creative mobility solutions, along with the ability to partner effectively with local stakeholders to apply those solutions.” –Mary Skelton Roberts

Lisa previously worked in Washington, D.C., at Smart Growth America’s National Complete Streets Coalition, where she developed policies to encourage street design to incorporate all users, regardless of age and ability, and for the Land Trust Alliance, where she initiated the rollout of several new training programs and toolkits.

Lisa earned a master’s degree in city planning from the University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor’s degree in international affairs from The George Washington University. She is part of the WTS-Boston leadership and is a co-founder of Young Professionals in Transportation’s Boston Chapter. She rides her bike daily and rarely turns down the opportunity to go on an outdoor adventure. Lisa and her husband reside in East Boston.