Barry  Newstead

Partner, San Francisco

Barry Newstead is a Partner in the Bridgespan Group's San Francisco office, where he advises nonprofit and foundation leaders on strategies for impact and organizational development. Barry's passions lie in pursuing social justice by addressing inequities of opportunity in society. Through 2009 and into 2010, he will be leading Bridgespan’s work in support of Wikimedia’s strategic planning process (strategy.wikimedia.org) and hosting a Blog on the project at http://blogs.harvardbusiness.org/.

Since joining Bridgespan in 2004, Barry has been deeply engaged in Bridgespan's education reform work with a specific focus on the role of innovation in education. He has worked extensively with high performing charter school organizations including partnerships with YES Prep Public Schools and High Tech High, and he has led work on next generation learning models, open educational resources, and expanding efforts around the use of technology to improve educational outcomes. In 2008 Barry co-authored "Going for the Gold: Secrets of Successful Schools " published in EducationNext (spring edition) as well as two in-depth case studies on YES Prep Public Schools.

Outside of the education sector, Barry has worked with leading internet-based programs tackling youth mental health, children's media habits, and minority advancement in business. Barry has supported numerous foundations and nonprofits in their efforts to define innovative strategies to address a variety societal challenges including urban and rural poverty alleviation, family homelessness, and universal health care. In 2006 Barry co-authored a case study on the Communities of Opportunity initiative, an ambitious community revitalization strategy developed by the city of San Francisco with support from the Bridgespan Group. He also recently co-authored a research study addressing funding disparities between rural nonprofits and their urban counterparts called "Nonprofits in Rural America: Overcoming the Resource Gap."

Having previously lived and worked in Canada, Asia, and Europe, Barry also brings a global perspective to Bridgespan’s work. He has led engagements focusing on higher education, small farmers and land rights, and agricultural water management technologies in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Prior to joining Bridgespan, Barry worked with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). He spent much of his career in Asia and Europe working on issues of global corporate strategy, reform of state-owned enterprises, and global organizational development. He played a leading role in serving nonprofit organizations while working with BCG in New York including a longstanding relationship with with Management Leadership for Tomorrow.

Barry received his Master in Public Policy degree from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government where he concentrated on the role of science and technology innovation in development. He earned his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Western Ontario in Canada where he was an Ivey Scholar.