Christine Barber

Chief of Staff, Year Up United

Christine Barber is the Chief of Staff at Year Up United, a national workforce development organization committed to expanding access to economic opportunity for all young adults and providing talent, business, and community solutions to reshape the world of work.

As Chief of Staff, Christine serves as a strategic and operational thought-partner to the CEO and President on a range of issues, helping to identify opportunities and risks and drive transformational outcomes. She manages a strategy office that contributes to the development and communication of long-range Year Up United strategic plans and supports the formation and implementation of organizational impact goals, Board management, and strategic communication.

Christine comes to this role with over 15 years of experience in the nonprofit and government sectors in grant-making, fundraising, and external relations. A social worker by training, Christine started her career at the Office of the Attorney General of Massachusetts as a grant-maker, supporting nonprofit organizations across the state focused on ensuring victims and survivors of crime had access to high-quality, trauma-informed services. She made her foray into fundraising at the Home for Little Wanderers, the oldest child welfare organization in the country.

Christine joined Year Up United in 2013 and spent her first 10 years as part of the Development Team, securing critical resources to advance the mission. She led some of the organization’s most impactful investor relationships, supported the build-out of a Grants Management team, and seeded knowledge management and strategic communications efforts within Development. Christine is based in Boston and lives outside of the city with her husband and two boys. She holds a B.A. in Psychology and Sociology from Bucknell University and a MSW in Social Work from Boston University.