The Carnegie Corporation of New York has announced that Barbara Denning Finberg, a philanthropist and nonprofit leader credited with focusing the nation's attention on the need for early childhood education policy, has died as a result of respiratory failure following a long struggle with breast cancer.

Finberg spent thirty-eight years at Carnegie, after being hired by John Gardner as an editorial associate from the Institute of International Education, where she administered the American Fulbright program for Germany. While at the foundation, Finberg, who served as both a program officer and corporate officer, shaped the early childhood education field and made many grants that advanced research and practice in the nascent field.

"Barbara was a leader who helped develop modern philanthropy," said Helene L. Kaplan, chair of Carnegie's board who also served as a trustee in the 1980s and knew Finberg well. "She felt passionate about the role philanthropy could play in society and accented both its creativity and its responsibility. Because improving American Indian Youth's education was a lifelong commitment for Barbara, she created grantmaking strategies that advanced the cause and testified a number of times before Congress to make the case."

When she retired from the foundation in 1996, Finberg was executive vice president overseeing the administrative and programmatic work of the foundation. While serving as COO during the presidency of David Hamburg, Finberg continued to lead Carnegie's early childhood work but was also responsible for grantmaking in other education fields, in African development, and in peace and security work. Upon retirement, she became a partner with Margaret Mahoney in MEM Associates, a consultancy for philanthropy and nonprofits.

As a leader in advancing the nonprofit sector, Finberg served as a board member and chair of Independent Sector, an institution begun by Gardner in Washington, D.C., that focuses on both the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors. She also was a member of the board of Human Rights Watch, the New York Foundation, the Association of American Law Schools, the Investor Responsibility Research Center, Inc., the Consortium for the Advancement of Private Higher Education, the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp Fund, the Bard Musical Festival, and the Society for Research in Child Development.