Tracy Palandjian Appointed Barr Foundation Trustee

Today, we are delighted to announce the latest appointment to Barr’s board, Tracy Palandjian, CEO and Co-Founder of Social Finance. Tracy’s initial three-year term as Trustee will commence September 1st.

“Tracy brings a keen understanding of the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors,” said Barbara Hostetter. “Through her leadership of Social Finance, she is innovating approaches to financing social change efforts. And she brings to Barr deep experience in both nonprofit leadership and governance. We welcome Tracy to our board and look forward to her contributions.”

Palandjian Appointed Barr Trustee

Headquartered in Boston, Social Finance is a national nonprofit that builds innovative partnerships and investments to measurably improve lives. Since 2011, the firm has pioneered impact-first investments including the Social Impact Bond and the Career Impact Bond to catalyze capital at scale and deliver sustainable impact for people and communities across the United States. Social Finance also builds impact-first investments for donor-advised funds and private foundations and has mobilized over $350 million to deliver measurable outcomes in education, economic mobility, health, and housing.

Six years ago, the Barr Foundation initiated a planned expansion of its board as part of a shift from a family foundation to a legacy foundation, as described in this 2017 blog post by board chair and co-founder Barbara Hostetter. Tracy will become Barr’s ninth trustee, and the sixth from outside the family of our co-founders.

Prior to Social Finance, Tracy was a Managing Director for eleven years at The Parthenon Group, where she established and led the Nonprofit Practice and worked with foundations and NGOs both in the U.S. and globally. A member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Society, Tracy is a frequent speaker and writer on ESG and impact investing, social innovation, and results-oriented policymaking. She has served – and continues to serve - on numerous nonprofit and foundation boards, including the Harvard Corporation, the Surdna Foundation, Mass General Brigham, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, and Facing History and Ourselves.

“I am humbled and grateful for the opportunity to join Barr at this phase in its evolution,” said Palandjian. “The Foundation’s core values could not be more aligned with my own – to strive for impact, invest in leaders, and take the long view while being curious and open to new perspectives – and to do so with a humility about the privilege inherent to philanthropic work. I am excited to contribute in any way I can to advancing Barr’s mission of investing in potential.”