Bari Katz

Bari Katz is a NYC-based social justice educator and facilitator who works with nonprofit organizations, schools and grantmaking institutions across the United States. Bari’s work includes designing and facilitating trainings, writing custom curricula, coaching leadership teams, and supporting organizational development to create spaces and relationships where everyone’s humanity is honored and oppressive systems and dynamics are disrupted.

After serving as the Program Director for the National Conference for Community and Justice for three years in New York City, Bari went on to co-found a charter high school in Brooklyn, NY, where she served as the founding Director of Student Life. Bari served as a National Training Specialist for the Posse Foundation, a college access and leadership program for urban high school students. She helped replicate the Posse program in New Orleans, LA and Houston, TX and traveled to Posse’s nine regional offices to support program staff, evaluate curriculum, and coach trainers who work directly with Posse Scholars. In this role, Bari also co-designed national retreats for college students across the United States on topics like Gender and Sexuality, the Millennials, and Education.

Bari now serves as a consultant working with organizations across the country like DEMOS, ExpandED Schools, City Year, Let’s Get Ready, the Andrus Family Fund, JP Morgan Chase’s The Fellowship Initiative, and Literacy Trust among others, designing curricula and programs, facilitating professional development workshops, and coaching school and program staff to create inclusive spaces and equitable practices. In 2017, Bari co-authored the “social justice toolkit” for the Andrus Family Fund, which is a comprehensive, interactive curriculum with the goal of inspiring and cultivating the next generation of social justice philanthropy leaders. The toolkit (which can be found here) cover topics such as racial equity, oppressive systems and philanthropic traditions.

Bari has been an Adjunct Professor of Sociology at CUNY Borough of Manhattan Community College since 2008 and at Medgar Evers College since 2018. She is committed to supporting and empowering young people as they navigate systems of urban education and gain access to higher education. Bari teaches courses in Introduction to Sociology, Sociology of Race and Ethnicity and Sociology of Oppression. Bari received her Master’s degree in Sociology and two Bachelor’s degrees in Politics and Sociology from New York University where she studied race and ethnicity, education, and collective action.