High Impact Philanthropy: Andrew Roberts Of Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy On How To Leave A Lasting Legacy With A Successful & Effective Nonprofit Organization
An Interview with Karen Mangia
Clear and enduring mission — I think a major factor in the longevity of both the Barbara Bush Foundation and AARP is that they are dedicated to enduring, nonpartisan issues. Aging is a universal experience. So many of us have concerns about aging loved ones, in addition to worrying about what the world will be like when we get older ourselves. Similarly, we all rely on our literacy skills to navigate the world, no matter who we are.
For someone who wants to set aside money to establish a Philanthropic Foundation or Fund, what does it take to make sure your resources are being impactful and truly effective? In this interview series, called “How To Create Philanthropy That Leaves a Lasting Legacy” we are visiting with founders and leaders of Philanthropic Foundations, Charitable Organizations, and Non-Profit Organizations, to talk about the steps they took to create sustainable success.
As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Andrew Roberts.
Andrew Roberts is President of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy, where he leads national efforts to ensure that all Americans have the literacy skills they need to thrive. A recognized leader in mission-driven strategy, he previously served as the Foundation’s Chief Operating Officer and held senior roles at AARP, where he led a Malcolm Baldrige award-winning strategic planning initiative for a $250M social impact portfolio. In 2023, Roberts was honored as a Top 100 Chief Operating Officer by the OnCon Icon Awards for his contributions to organizational effectiveness and innovation.
Thank you for making time to visit with us about a ‘top of mind’ topic. Our readers would like to get to know you a bit better. Can you please tell us about one or two life experiences that most shaped who you are today?
The first is that I moved frequently as a child. I attended five schools in five years, including time living overseas. My parents are originally from the UK, and this constant change gave me a deep appreciation for the role of family as an anchor, while also exposing me to a wide variety of cultures and perspectives at an early age. It helped me learn to adapt quickly, connect with different people, and value the sense of belonging that comes from community.
The second is the role that education played in my life. I was one of the first in my family to attend college, but what truly set me on that path was the incredible opportunity I had to attend a strong middle and high school. Those experiences didn’t just teach me subject matter; they taught me how to learn, the value of curiosity, and the doors that education can open. That lesson has never left me, and it’s a big part of why I’ve dedicated so much of my career to expanding educational opportunities for others.
You are a successful leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? We would love to hear a few stories or examples.
I would highlight strategic focus, transparency, and empathy as three character traits that have been most instrumental in my success.
- Strategic Focus has allowed me to balance vision with execution. I consistently work to connect long-term goals with day-to-day operations so that every decision moves the organization toward impact. This approach has been critical in delivering measurable results while staying grounded in mission.
- Transparency has been key to building trust and accountability. Whether working with staff, board members, or external partners, I’ve found that clear communication and openness create alignment and empower teams to move forward confidently.
- Empathy has shaped how I approach leadership and collaboration. By truly listening and understanding the perspectives of others, whether colleagues, community members, or stakeholders, I’m able to create solutions that reflect real needs and build stronger, more enduring partnerships.
Together, these traits have enabled me to lead with clarity, build meaningful relationships, and deliver sustainable impact across my career.
What’s the most interesting discovery you’ve made since you started leading your organization?
Before I joined the Barbara Bush Foundation, I knew instinctively that literacy is a huge factor in our quality of life as individuals. My time here has taught me that the impacts of low literacy extend far beyond individuals and families. Research links low literacy to many of our most pressing problems at the societal level, including multigenerational cycles of poverty, poor health, and workforce readiness deficits. Efforts to improve literacy rates have a huge return on investment across many social impact areas.
Can you please tell our readers more about how you or your organization intends to make a significant social impact?
We are seeing an increasingly urgent need for literacy funding at the local level. Reading scores for both children and adults have been steadily declining for a decade. Community-based programs simply don’t have enough resources to meet the overwhelming need, and many nonprofits are struggling to keep their doors open. As we plan for the future — both short- and long-term — we are prioritizing grantmaking. By investing in high-quality programs and partners nationwide, we can elevate what works, reach more families, and serve the communities in most need.
What makes you feel passionate about this cause more than any other?
During my time at AARP, I visited a volunteer program that paired youth readers with older volunteers. While I was there, a young girl spotted her mom walking into the room. Beaming with pride, she ran up to her and read a page aloud from her book. In that simple moment, her mom burst into tears. She later shared that she couldn’t read well herself, and hearing her daughter read with confidence filled her with joy and hope for the opportunities ahead.
That encounter has stayed with me. It was a powerful reminder that literacy is about so much more than words on a page. It’s about breaking cycles, opening doors, and changing futures for entire families. It ultimately led me to join the Barbara Bush Foundation.
Without naming names, could you share a story about an individual who benefitted from your initiatives?
Countless families have benefited from improving their literacy skills in the 36 years since Mrs. Bush launched the Foundation. One of my favorite stories is about a mom who grew up in a family of migrant workers. They needed her help to make ends meet, and by seventh grade, she had been forced to drop out of school so that she could work in the fields picking strawberries full-time. Within a few years, she had run away and was a single mom of two. In her 20s, she decided that she wanted a better life for herself and her children, and she found one of the Foundation’s family literacy programs. She earned her GED there while her children worked on their early literacy skills, and then she went on to get her college degree. Through that experience, she discovered her passion for family literacy, and she became the director of an incredible program that has served her community — the same community where she worked in the fields as a child — for more than a decade now. Her courage in taking that second chance at education changed the trajectory for not just her own family, but for families throughout her community.
We all want to help and to live a life of purpose. What are three actions anyone could take to help address the root cause of the problem you’re trying to solve?
- Be a reading role model — Let kids see you reading newspapers, books, or even recipes. Put down the phone and show that reading matters in daily life.
- Read with a child regularly — Even 15 minutes a day makes a difference in vocabulary and confidence. If you don’t have children or grandchildren, look for opportunities to volunteer at local schools or community centers as a reading mentor. Helping a child learn to read is one of the most important things you can do to set them up for success in life.
- Give back — Local literacy programs and nonprofits often operate on very small budgets and depend on support from their communities. Give what you can — whether that is financial support, donations of gently used or new books, or your time as a volunteer. Everyone has something to give.
Based on your experience, what are the “5 Things You Need To Create A Successful & Effective Nonprofit That Leaves A Lasting Legacy?” Please share a story or example for each.
1 . Clear and enduring mission — I think a major factor in the longevity of both the Barbara Bush Foundation and AARP is that they are dedicated to enduring, nonpartisan issues. Aging is a universal experience. So many of us have concerns about aging loved ones, in addition to worrying about what the world will be like when we get older ourselves. Similarly, we all rely on our literacy skills to navigate the world, no matter who we are.
2 . Sustainable and diverse fundraising — It’s essential to have a steady pipeline of funding without being overly reliant on a single source or donor. Ideally, you will find a diverse set of groups and individuals that care about your issue for their own respective reasons. At the Barbara Bush Foundation, for example, we launched a Corporate Advisory Council to engage business leaders from sectors including health, technology, energy, finance, and retail in our work. This not only provided a funding stream, but also opened up the opportunities to partner with Fortune 100 companies on impactful co-designed programs and initiatives.
3 . A well-defined problem and measurable impact — Clearly defining the scope and impact of the problem you’re trying to solve is key. That’s why the Barbara Bush Foundation has invested in research and resources like a Literacy Gap Map — which not only shows where low literacy is most prevalent across the country, but also how it correlates to other quality of life indicators like health and poverty levels in those areas — or our Gallup economic study that translated the issue into dollars and cents. Organizations that thrive long-term also invest in tracking key performance indicators (KPIs), evaluating results, and sharing data openly. The resources I just mentioned are available for the entire field to use, and we frequently see them cited at the local and national levels by literacy advocacy organizations.
4 . Success stories — Numbers are important, but they’re most impactful when they’re paired with powerful stories of the lives that have been changed as a result of the organization’s work. One of my favorite things to do is taking donors and partners to visit one of the Barbara Bush Foundation’s reading mentoring programs. We conduct third-party evaluations on those programs every year, with outstanding results. But nothing compares to the experience of seeing the look on a kid’s face when they realize they’ve just read their first paragraph. It’s the very best reminder of why we do what we do.
5 . Partnerships in the ecosystem — It’s easy to stay so heads-down in your own work that you miss out on opportunities in the broader ecosystem. Successful nonprofits don’t work in isolation. They build deep partnerships across sectors, engage with the communities they serve, and earn trust over time. For example, the Barbara Bush Foundation convened a collective impact organization — ALL IN, the Adult Literacy and Learning Impact Network — made up of the leading organizations across the literacy field. By leveraging our combined expertise, resources, and relationships, we’ve been able to achieve things as a collective that none of us could have achieved as a single organization.
How has the pandemic changed your definition of success?
The pandemic reshaped my definition of success in profound ways. As President of the Barbara Bush Foundation, I saw firsthand how fragile access to family and education resources could be when systems are disrupted. Before, success often meant scaling programs, hitting fundraising milestones, and broadening our national footprint. During the pandemic, however, success became more about resilience — about ensuring that families had access to the literacy support they needed, even in the most uncertain times.
On a personal level, working through the pandemic with my own children at home was a stark reminder of what so many families face every day when trying to balance learning and life. That perspective sharpened my focus on equity and empathy in our work. We pivoted quickly to digital tools and virtual programming, and for me, success was no longer just measured in numbers, but in the individual stories of parents and children who could continue learning together despite the challenges.
It deepened my belief that true success is about empowering families and sustaining access to education under any circumstance.
How do you get inspired after an inevitable setback?
When I face setbacks, I always return to the mission. Who are we serving and why? It’s the grounding force that keeps me inspired. At the Barbara Bush Foundation, our work is about more than numbers or projects; it’s about families, education, and ensuring that every child and parent has the chance to succeed through literacy. Remembering why we do this work helps put any challenge into perspective.
I also find inspiration in the stories of the people we serve and in the dedication of the teams and partners who share this vision. Setbacks are inevitable in any complex work, but when you reconnect to the core intent — helping families build brighter futures — it fuels the resilience to keep moving forward with purpose.
We are very blessed that very prominent leaders read this column. Is there a person in the world who you would like to talk to, to share the idea behind your non-profit? He, she, or they might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂
I would choose a leading voice in artificial intelligence, like Sam Altman or Demis Hassabis. AI has enormous potential to transform education, but millions of Americans still lack the basic literacy skills needed to participate in that future. By engaging AI leaders directly, I’d want to draw attention to the reality that while we invest in cutting-edge innovation, we also need to ensure equitable access to foundational skills, starting with literacy. The nonprofit sector has proven models for helping families and communities build brighter futures, but to scale them sustainably and ensure they are free and accessible, we need the reach, resources, and vision that tech leaders bring. Pairing the social mission of nonprofits with the scale and innovation of AI could finally make high-quality literacy support available to everyone in this country.
You’re doing important work. How can our readers follow your progress online?
You can find me on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/aeproberts/.
Thank you for a meaningful conversation. We wish you continued success with your mission.
About The Interviewer: Karen Mangia is one of the most sought-after keynote speakers in the world, sharing her thought leadership with over 10,000 organizations during the course of her career. As Vice President of Customer and Market Insights at Salesforce, she helps individuals and organizations define, design and deliver the future. Discover her proven strategies to access your own success in her fourth book Success from Anywhere and by connecting with her on LinkedIn and Twitter.
High Impact Philanthropy: Andrew Roberts Of Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy On How To… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.