Barbara Raymond

Barbara Raymond is the founder of The Public Good, a company focused on strategic philanthropy and the social impact sector, bringing together communities around the causes that matter most. From homelessness to education to justice reform, she partners with nonprofits and changemakers to create real, lasting impact. Raymond was a researcher at the RAND Corporation and a funder with The California Endowment, and now advises clients seeking to do more good in the world. Barbara weaves together financial, policy, and narrative strategy to drive real systems change — whether that's shifting national conversations, aligning funder collaboratives, or influencing how public systems operate. Raymond helped shift the national narrative on school discipline — moving the conversation toward keeping kids in school and out of the justice system — working with the White House and state leadership to advance meaningful reform.

She has partnered with artists including John Legend, Common, and RZA on justice reform and trauma resilience education. She co-created and led multi-sector funder coalitions that aligned more than $100 million toward initiatives focused on boys and men of color. She built one of the largest foundation-driven social media communities, reaching more than 700,000 people in the earliest days of Instagram, before the platform was widely used for movement building. Barbara has a particular interest in civic resilience and collective hardiness, and believes that thoughtful, committed citizens are the foundation of the public good