Kate Barr is the former President & CEO of Propel Nonprofits and an advisor to nonprofits locally and nationally on strategy, finance, and governance. She currently serves as Senior Advisor for the Minnesota CDFI (Community Development Finance Institution) Coalition. During her 20+ year tenure at Propel, she worked with the board and staff to develop and implement innovative financing and programming to support nonprofit growth and stability across Minnesota and nationally. Kate oversaw the formation of Propel in 2017 through the merger of a CDFI and statewide capacity building nonprofit as a strategy to accelerate and deepen impact and reach. She joined Propel after serving as a bank executive and began her career as the business manager of a performing arts nonprofit. She serves on multiple boards in the nonprofit, foundation, and business sectors.

Kate holds a doctorate in educational leadership from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. Her teaching and research focus is nonprofit board governance and nonprofit and public finance. Kate is an influential writer and speaker on topics related to nonprofit finance, capitalization of nonprofits, board governance, and leadership. She is an alumnus of the Humphrey Policy Fellows and the Harvard Kennedy School Art and Practice of Leadership Development program.