Barnaby Marsh is regarded as one of the world’s most original philanthropy strategists, known for his skill in structuring projects to generate cascades of downstream results and engagement, including strategic follow-up funding.
In the past 20 years, Barnaby has advised on over 200 philanthropic projects, totaling over $3 billion. He has helped design programs for institutions, including the Smithsonian, Royal Society, Santa Fe Institute, 92Y, CalTech, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, Chicago, MIT, and Oxford. He has advised many generous individuals on strategic directions for their private foundations, including building and strengthening boards, refining project design, and enhancing visibility. He worked with the late investing pioneer Sir John Templeton to develop novel approaches to risk-taking in philanthropy, including competition-based methods and prizes, and served as a leader in the development of the $3.5 billion John Templeton Foundation.
Barnaby’s technical background is in decision sciences, complexity, and risk. He holds an AB Summa cum laude from Cornell University, where he was a College Scholar, and a doctorate from Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar.