Ali Noorani will become president of the Barr Foundation in December, taking the helm of the powerhouse philanthropic organization whose influence extends into nearly every corner of Boston.
Noorani, 52, has a quarter-century of experience in nonprofits, most recently as a program director at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation in California. And in his 12 years as the head of the National Immigration Forum, he tripled the nonprofit advocacy group’s operations and staff.
Earlier in his career, Noorani worked in public health and immigration advocacy in Massachusetts at the Codman Square Health Center and the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition, among other roles.
“I am deeply humbled and grateful for the opportunity to lead the Barr Foundation at this moment and to build on its exceptional reputation as an institution that boldly stands in its values of deep and authentic partnership and investment in community,” he said in a Wednesday statement.
His appointment marks a major transition at Barr. Its current president Jim Canales will step down after an 11-year tenure, during which he expanded the institution dramatically and boosted transparency by publicizing where Barr spends its money. He will take the role currently filled by Barbara Hostetter, the founding board chair and a soon-to-be Barr trustee.
In a statement, Hostetter praised Noorani for his “humility, curiosity, and the long-term view that investing in potential and empowering people in communities always requires.”
“Throughout the search, Ali’s enthusiasm for Barr’s core issues of arts, climate, and education was palpable, as was his readiness to propel Barr into its next chapter,” she said.
Founded in 1997, Barr has invested $1.7 billion to charitable causes in arts, education, climate resiliency, and racial justice. Under Canales, the foundation grew its grantmaking from $55 million to $130 million a year and more than doubled the size of its staff, now around 50 people. In all, Barr controls $2.9 billion in assets. (Barr also supports the Globe’s Great Divide and Money, Power, and Inequality teams.)
Under Canales, Barr made headlines for funding mitigation efforts for Boston’s waterfront development and for taking the lead on equity initiatives. In 2020, Canales penned a Globe op-ed encouraging philanthropy to “redouble our commitments” and to recognize that “advancing racial justice does not result from a statement, a set of grants, or a funder initiative.” The next year, the foundation vowed to direct more of its climate grants to organizations led by people of color.
In a January interview with the Globe, Canales said the foundation was “in a great position of strength to attract a dynamic, talented leader who can help build on the solid foundation and take the institution to the next level of impact.”
On Wednesday, Canales touted Noorani’s “instinctual strategic acumen and personal warmth that make him a tremendous asset as Barr seeks to meet the needs of this moment and beyond.”
Nonprofits across the state have taken an outsized role in upholding the state’s social safety net this year, as federal programs intended to protect the vulnerable have been rolled back by the White House. The Boston Foundation announced in early August that it was sending $1 million to the Greater Boston Food Bank and $500,000 to other regional food organizations to address rising food insecurity and shrinking federal funds. And immigrant advocacy groups are mobilizing to provide legal support and housing to millions of undocumented people amid the Trump administration’s call for increased deportations.
With his background in immigration, Noorani may be uniquely equipped to handle the moment, supporters said in a statement.
“In a time of extraordinary turbulence and disquiet, I can think of no better leader to take the helm of the Barr Foundation than Ali Noorani,” said Sam Gill, president of the New York-based Doris Duke Foundation. “Ali’s passion, intelligence, experience and humanity make him the perfect steward for the next chapter in Barr’s legacy of investing in the human, natural and creative potential of our communities and our American society.”
Diti Kohli can be reached at diti.kohli@globe.com. Follow her @ditikohli_.