D.C.’s Halcyon, which just said goodbye to its arts programming, has appointed a new incubator leader as it hones its work with entrepreneurs.
The social enterprise nonprofit has tapped Daniel Barker as managing director of the Halcyon Incubator, a new senior-level position responsible for both its daily operations and strategic direction, according to the organization.
Barker started in the position Monday after relocating to D.C. from New York. He reports to Dahna Goldstein, Halcyon’s chief investment officer. Both are part of Halcyon’s six-person leadership team that also includes co-founder and CEO Kate Goodall, Chief Strategy Officer Samantha Abrams, Chief Operating Officer Josh Mandell and Nicole Weissman, senior director of communications and program strategy.
In the new role, Barker is charged with overseeing the residential incubator as well as Halcyon’s intensive programs. He inherits responsibilities from Ryan Ross, chief innovation officer for Halcyon over seven years, who stepped away to join Amazon Web Services over the summer. Mike Malloy, who held multiple positions over nearly five years with Halcyon, was most recently the incubator’s program director, a different position from Barker’s, until summer 2021.
Also over the summer, Goldstein was named chief investment officer. She’d first come on board as director of the group’s early-stage investment arm Halcyon Angels, before going full time in early 2021 as director of impact investing to oversee all impact investing strategy and initiatives.
Barker joins Halcyon after serving as vice president for research with the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth. He was previously vice president of social impact for New York’s BlackRock Inc. and a consultant with Deloitte, which provides pro bono support to Halcyon’s incubator fellows — and first connected him with the organization.
“So for our team, it was great to see a candidate who not only knew how this program works, but has worked directly with Halcyon fellows in the past and kept an eye on us over the years to see where else he could plug in,” Goodall said in an email. "Dan’s experience working across sectors and industries will be a fantastic resource to the Halcyon team and most importantly, our fellows.”
Barker joins the incubator as a new crop of entrepreneurs leading eight ventures settle into the fellowship. Applications for the next wave open Feb. 16, according to its website.
He also comes on board as Halcyon’s team of full-time employees, now 17 people, is “expected to grow to 20 in the coming weeks,” Goodall told us. The website notes three open positions: strategic communications manager, grant writer and program coordinator for Halcyon Incubator.
In addition, former Yum! Brands Inc. executive and Beyond Meat board member Micky Pant joins its board of directors, now chaired by Metz Investments founder Martha Metz. She succeeds Sachiko Kuno in that slot, who recently stepped down but remains on the board.
Halcyon closed 2021 with an end to its arts programming, which proved challenging to fund through the pandemic, Goodall said in a letter to the community. But the nonprofit is now deepening and widening its work with startup founders and impact investing, with plans to break further into the Middle East and North Africa and introduce new cohorts for founders.
