Cynthia Barr is one of ICLAD's founding board members. She received her B.A. from Yale University and her J.D. from Boston University School of Law. Cynthia's legal experience encompasses teaching, government service, and private practice.

For 10 years (1997-2007), Cynthia taught legislative design and drafting at Boston University School of Law. Together with Prof. Bob Seidman, she taught the Legislation Clinics, in which law students provided public interest clients with legislation and supporting analyses to solve pressing social problems. Cynthia also designed and taught the law school's Legislative Internship Program, in which students working in the state legislature developed proposals to reform the lawmaking process. In addition, Cynthia has taught legislative design and drafting workshops for lawyers from Africa and the Caribbean at the International Law Institute in Washington, D.C.

Cynthia began her legal career in 1987, practicing land use law with the law firm of Hutchins & Wheeler in Boston, Massachusetts (USA). In 1991, she was asked by the Boston Redevelopment Authority, the planning authority for the City of Boston, to serve as Land Use Counsel for a fundamental, community-based revision of the city's urban plan. During that period (1991-2000), Cynthia drafted Boston's comprehensive new zoning (city planning) laws. She also co-chaired the Land Use and Development Committee of the Boston Bar Association. Cynthia has written extensively on Boston's innovative zoning laws, including the book, Boston Zoning: A Lawyer's Handbook (MCLE, 4th edition 2010), and has spoken on panels for lawyers and policymakers at the Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston (Harvard Kennedy School of Government), the Boston Bar Association, and Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education.

Currently, Cynthia is developing several books on designing effective laws. Her research interests focus the use of law to solve social problems and promote good governance.