Barr's Vice President for Strategy and Programs to Step Down in May 2025

When I announced Roger Nozaki’s appointment as Barr’s first Vice President in May 2016, I wrote:

“Roger’s sharp intellect, dedication to social change, and focus on impact situate him well for this leadership role at Barr. Moreover, his thoughtful, humble, and collaborative leadership style aligns well with Barr’s values, and we are fortunate to welcome him to our team.”

How accurate those words have proven to be—and more.

So, it is certainly bittersweet news to share that, after 8 and a half years of Barr being the principal beneficiary of his wise leadership, sound counsel, and great integrity, Roger has decided to step down in May 2025.

During his tenure, Roger has been an integral partner to me in leading Barr during a transformational period of change, growth, and evolution.

Roger guided significant program and initiative development and shepherded the near-doubling of our grantmaking during his tenure, launched Barr’s Learning and Evaluation department, and partnered with me and others in more than doubling the program staff, deepening Barr’s commitment to DEI and racial equity, and advancing the program and organizational shifts required by COVID and now hybrid work.

Roger has also been central to the many ways we’ve adapted our processes to place our partners at the center, and make Barr easier to work with and, we hope, a more effective partner to them. We recently shared the results of our latest Grantee Perception Report (GPR), and the significant improvements reported there can be traced to Roger’s leadership and commitment to addressing the concerns we heard in our prior GPR.

While these tangible contributions have been significant, in leadership roles, it is often the “how” that matters as much as the “what.” Roger’s leadership has been characterized by an abiding commitment to living out our mission and values, a dedication to enabling his colleagues to do their best work, and a keen focus on the communities and organizations we are here to serve. Roger has shown up at Barr each and every day as a leader with intelligence and grace, with humility and humanity, and with care and concern for all of us.

Barr is in a very different place today than when Roger joined our team in 2016. And we intend to take some time to consider how to structure and position this important leadership role for the next phase of Barr’s journey. We will have more to share on that topic in the new year. For now, all of us at Barr extend our deepest gratitude to Roger for his leadership and friendship, knowing he’ll continue to play an integral role during his remaining seven months at Barr.