Marco Navarro

Background

About Marco Navarro

Marco Navarro, who joined The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in 1995, began his tenure with the Foundation as a financial officer, and his efforts in developing PRIs (program-related investments) have been chronicled in the Foundation’s Anthology. A “venture philanthropy” approach to funding, PRIs enable foundations to stretch their resources and fund essential projects, such as building construction. Promoted to a senior program officer in 2001, Navarro now manages a portfolio of New Jersey grants, including Building Healthier and more Equitable Communities a 4-city grant and financing initiative to improve built environments; NJ Food Security Initiative, a statewide collaborative to increase food security; Plan4HealthNJ, a cross-sector collaborative to design a master plan health element to advance healthy equity; and a portfolio of $50 million in a other grant/loan programs designed to improve the community health and well-being, support area universities hospitals, and other organizations. He also led the planning for the New Jersey Partnership for Healthier Kids to prevent childhood obesity. He earned a Master of City and Regional Planning and a Public Health Graduate Certificate from Rutgers University, and a BS in business administration from Seton Hall University. He is a Leadership New Jersey Fellow and a former Commissioner (Public Representative) of the NJ Urban Enterprise Zone Authority for 10 years.