Meet the Staff

Maeve joined The Barra Foundation as a Senior Program Associate in November 2022. Prior to joining Barra, she served as Director of Programs and Communications at The Fund for Women and Girls, a local nonprofit focused on providing opportunities and resources for women and girls to thrive.

At The Fund, Maeve oversaw grantmaking, advocacy initiatives, and youth programs geared toward uplifting and empowering marginalized communities in Chester County, PA. She also previously served in a communications role at a global environmental consulting firm. Maeve is passionate about programs, policy, and advocacy initiatives that are based in equity and inclusion, and that work to uplift women and families. Maeve was a member of the Emerging Leaders Peer Circle at The Nonprofit Center at La Salle University. She holds an undergraduate degree in English and anthropology from Barnard College of Columbia University and a Master of Public Administration from Villanova University.

Throughout her career, Linda Rich has sought creative ways to both improve individual lives and influence systems and policy. She joined The Barra Foundation in 2019 having been one of the builders of the Center for Nonviolence and Social Justice at Drexel University.

Prior to joining Drexel, she designed a citywide parenting initiative through the Community Based Prevention Division for Philadelphia’s Department of Human Services, where she evaluated funding requests and managed grants for more than 70 community programs. She has also assisted in planning, implementing and evaluating grantmaking projects for a number of national foundations. Linda has engaged deeply in and alongside government, health care, non-profits and academia. She holds an undergraduate degree from Trinity College and a Master’s in Community Psychology from Temple University. As a lifelong cultivator of stories, she has applied her skills and knowledge from her training as a psychologist. Linda believes that when stories are shared, we can reduce isolation, maximize connection and promote healing. She is a speaker and trainer on trauma, violence, and social and racial justice.

Leah is driven by a commitment to lifting up the diverse lived experiences of creative people in our Philadelphia communities. She joined The Barra Foundation in early 2023–prior to joining Barra, Leah served as Health & Wellness Director at Puentes de Salud, where she launched and shepherded programs in food access, mental health, the arts and culture, and case management, working in close partnership with Latinx community leaders.

An arts scholar and practitioner, Leah started her career working in museums. She has consulted to local and national nonprofits and foundations both independently and with Metris Arts Consulting, focusing on the role of art and culture in social and community change. Bilingual in Spanish, Leah thrives at the intersection of high-level strategy and grassroots work, and is a student of community-led and culturally-responsive practice. She believes strongly in the power of reflection on practice and evaluative thinking. Leah also speaks and writes about philanthropy and the nonprofit sector; her work has been featured in academic journals, the Stanford Social Innovation Review, the Center for Effective Philanthropy, and the Chronicle of Philanthropy. She holds a Ph.D. in sociology from Princeton University.

Lauren joined The Barra Foundation as a Program Officer in February 2022. Prior to joining Barra, she served as a Development Project Manager with Stone Sherick Consulting Group focusing on the fundraising and predevelopment phases of affordable housing and mixed-use real estate projects.

Lauren also served as a Vice President at Opportunity Finance Network where she developed and implemented programmatic initiatives designed to provide capacity building resources, financial support and networking opportunities to community development financial institutions. Lauren is passionate about addressing systemic inequities that hinder access to resources and opportunity for marginalized populations and in past roles has worked on a diverse range of projects including analyzing payday loan data to advocate for policy reform in Texas and assessing the state of small business development in South Dakota’s Native reservations. She holds an undergraduate degree in sociology and political science from Brown University and a Master of Public Affairs from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin.

Kristina (Tina) Wahl joined The Barra Foundation as a Program Officer in 2010 and became President in 2013. Prior to joining Barra, she worked at The Pew Charitable Trusts as a Senior Associate and then as a Program Officer.

She also served as Managing Director of Marketing and Development at the Transitional Work Corporation, which at one time was the largest urban transitional jobs program in the country. After graduating from La Salle University, Tina joined the Vincentian Service Corps and served as a volunteer at Covenant House in New York City. She holds a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Currently, Tina serves on the Board of the Center for Health Care Strategies. She has served on the Board of Trustees at La Salle University, Gwynedd Mercy Academy High School, Philanthropy Network Greater Philadelphia and La Salle Academy, an elementary school for at-risk youth located in North Philadelphia. She has been a member of the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s Campaign Cabinet and Villanova University’s Department of Public Administration Advisory Board. Tina grew up in Ambler, PA, and feels a strong allegiance to the Greater Philadelphia region.

Stephanie joined The Barra Foundation in June of 2012. Stephanie has a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology from Purdue University.

She sits on the Board of Directors of Crescendo Phoenixville, a community music organization that provides intensive violin and music instruction to children who would otherwise not receive it.