Spar was appointed the 10th president of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, beginning in March 2017,[2] but announced her resignation in April 2018 after only about one year in the position.

Her own articles have appeared in publications ranging from The New England Journal of Medicine to Foreign Affairs to The Review of International Political Economy.

Her book, The Baby Business: How Money, Science and Politics Drive the Commerce of Conception, pioneered research about the economy of alternative fertility.

In various interviews online, Spar said that when she picked up the research topic of fertility through an economic lens, her colleagues did not take her seriously and called her soft.

[8] Spar also served as a member of the Board of Directors of American investment bank Goldman Sachs from June 2011 to April 2017.