Chris Hobbs

As a senior director, Chris oversees the Managed Organizations team, which is responsible for Arabella’s management of several nonprofits, including the New Venture Fund, a 501(c)(3) public charity, and the Sixteen Thirty Fund, a separate 501(c)(4). Chris helps donors and social entrepreneurs turn their philanthropic visions into reality by implementing innovative donor collaboratives, campaigns, and grant-making initiatives that help them achieve concrete goals. Chris also oversees the Managed Organization team’s client service, developing the firm’s systems and technology and training personnel to ensure that Arabella’s clients receive the highest quality service. At Arabella, Chris has launched and managed a number of groundbreaking projects. He helped a large institutional foundation develop a global grant-making mechanism for time-sensitive investments in global health, and has helped it to grow significantly over the past six years. Chris also recently helped a donor launch an initiative to improve women’s economic outcomes. The organization supports multi-pronged approaches and coordinates existing state and nation-wide efforts to achieve policy changes that support women’s health and livelihoods. Chris has managed projects on a range of other issues, including conservation, public policy, gun violence prevention, and education. Prior to joining Arabella, Chris worked for Population Services International (PSI), where he developed, managed, and implemented innovative public health programs in southern Africa. Chris began in the firm’s Washington, DC office, where he managed various programs PSI was implementing in Africa. He subsequently moved to PSI’s South Africa office, where he directed the finance and operations of many of these programs, improving systems and structures on the ground to facilitate implementation. Chris’s previous work experience also includes managing grants and programs at the National Park Foundation. He holds a BS in business administration from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Burkina Faso.