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Barrow Neurological Foundation names Katie Cobb as head of philanthropy

January 27, 2017

Katie Cobb has been named President of Philanthropy for Barrow Neurological Foundation. The world-renowned brain and spine institute is part of Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix. Barrow Neurological Foundation was established in 1961 to raise funds for research at the Institute. Today, the Foundation raises millions of dollars for research, medical education, and clinical programs for the prestigious Institute.

Prior to joining the Barrow Foundation, Cobb served as Senior Vice President for Advancement for Great Hearts Academies, Arizona’s largest Charter Management Organization. While there, Great Hearts Academies saw a 48 percent increase in Advancement funding within the first year and a 39 percent increase in Community Investment annual fund growth.

Before joining Great Hearts Academies, Cobb was the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for The Phoenix Symphony, where she oversaw a number of departments. During her four-year tenure at the Symphony, Cobb helped engineer a dramatic financial turnaround for the organization, growing overall revenue by 74 percent, more than doubling contributions to over $7 million, and transforming a structural deficit into a $3 million surplus.

Cobb began her career as Deputy Press Secretary for Arizona Governor Fife Symington, where she conceived and launched a number of successful public outreach campaigns.  She went on to hold several high profile positions in national television including helping to launch “America’s Talking,” the network that would evolve into MSNBC, and becoming a senior producer for Chris Matthew’s first talk show.
Later, she would also help open the Los Angeles bureau of Fox News, where she served as a producer for several top journalists.

“Katie has a tremendous and diverse background that will be of great value in building the Barrow Foundation,” said Linda Hunt, senior operations officer for Dignity Health in Arizona. “She is highly innovative and at the same time, she understands our mission. I look forward to what she and our philanthropy team will accomplish together.”

A graduate of Loyola Marymount University, Cobb devotes her talents to numerous charitable and educational endeavors and is a passionate advocate for military veterans, education and the arts in Arizona.