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Please Welcome Janet LaBar, Our New Executive Director

This email was shared with Women’s Impact Fund members on June 17, 2025

From our Board Chair, Katie Susong:

On behalf of the Board of Directors, we are thrilled to share an important and exciting milestone for Women’s Impact Fund. After a thoughtful and thorough search process, we are thrilled to announce the hiring of our new Executive Director, Janet LaBar. 

Janet brings decades of leadership experience in the Charlotte community and beyond. She is widely respected, deeply relational, and brings a strong track record of setting bold visions, managing complex priorities, and driving economic and community growth. Her career has included president and CEO of the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance, where she worked to foster inclusive economic growth and deepen community engagement. Prior to her role at the CRBA, she served as president and CEO of Greater Portland Inc., a regional economic development organization. You can check out her LinkedIn page here.

Janet’s energy, experience, commitment to equity, and network make her uniquely positioned to elevate Women’s Impact Fund—broadening our reach, deepening our impact, and honoring the strong foundation we’ve built over the last 20 years. Her first day on the WIF team will be June 30th.

This transition marks an exciting new chapter for WIF, and we are so grateful for the support and engagement of our members throughout this process. We also want to extend our heartfelt thanks to the search committee and Board of Directors for their time, thoughtful guidance, and dedication – and to our incredible WIF staff for their effort and steady commitment through this transition.

We look forward to introducing Janet to all of you. We wanted you to be the first to know this exciting news, and we will be sharing it on our social channels tomorrow. To learn more about Janet and the announcement, you can read our full press release here.

Please join us in welcoming her to WIF!

With gratitude,

Katie Susong
2024-2026 Board Chair

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Janet LaBar

Executive Director​
jlabar@womensimpactfund.org

With more than 25 years of experience, Janet has a proven track record of leading organizations and teams in developing strategies that foster thriving communities. Her career is dedicated to the well-being of the places she serves, and the people and businesses within them, positioning her as a trusted sounding board, critical thinker, and purposeful protagonist across corporate, government, education, entrepreneurial, and civic spheres.
Janet joined Women’s Impact Fund in June 2025 to guide one of Charlotte’s most respected, women-led philanthropic organizations into its next phase of growth and impact. In partnership with the Women’s Impact Fund team, Board, Advisors, members, volunteers, and key community partners, she will continue strengthening communities by maximizing women’s leadership in philanthropy through collective giving, education, and engagement.
Inspired by her family, teams who dare greatly, and people and communities striving to be their best selves, Janet’s impactful career includes leadership roles as President and CEO of Charlotte Regional Business Alliance, President and CEO of Greater Portland Inc, and Chief Performance Officer of Greater Phoenix Economic Council. As a first-generation Filipino American, her lived experience deeply informs her professional drive to create equitable economic growth and opportunity in the metro areas she’s served.
She holds a BA in Communication Arts from the University of West Florida and an MBA in Marketing from the University of Phoenix. Janet and her husband James are proud parents to an older daughter, and a daughter and son who are twins.