News and Stories

America’s 250th anniversary is officially celebrated on July 4, but you can recognize this historic milestone at any time with a book from our SelectBooks collection.

Taylor Smiley Wolfe started work in April 2026 as the very first director of policy, where she leads the Foundation’s strategy to achieve durable outcomes for rural communities.

New Children, Youth and Families program officer Samantha Herron holds years of experience as an award-winning rural teacher, with a keen focus on K-12 education-to-workforce pathways.

A tribute to Carmen Ford Phillips, the only daughter of Kenneth Ford and Hallie Ford and former family representative on The Ford Family Foundation Board of Directors.

Jennifer Lindsey has lived and worked in many places, but when she moved back to Oregon a decade ago, it felt like a homecoming. The new communications director for the Foundation, Jennifer is responsible for all internal and external communication efforts.

We’re thrilled to introduce Christi Boyter as the new Alumni Engagement Coordinator at The Ford Family Foundation! With a wealth of experience in education, Christi is perfectly suited for this role.

Veteran policy strategist Tim Inman joins the Foundation as its first Chief Policy and Public Affairs Officer. Tim will support policy agenda development and implementation, as well as external engagement and communications.

Carrie Pipinich joins the Foundation’s Community Economic Development team as its new senior program officer. Based in The Dalles, Carrie comes to us from the Mid-Columbia Economic Development District, where she worked for 12 years, most recently as deputy director of economic development.

Le Bailey joins the Postsecondary Success team in Eugene as its first student engagement coordinator. He comes to The Ford Family Foundation from La Grande, where he spent 15 years at Eastern Oregon University as the director of student involvement.

Field coordinators are at the heart of The Ford Family Foundation’s Community Building Approach. These locally based team members serve as resources and agents for change in their community, whether that community is a rural region or a specific population.