“I’m a counselor by training. Listening, clarifying goals, seeing and understanding strengths—that’s what gets me excited about this work.”

Lee Ann Grogan has spent many years working with different nonprofits committed to building community supporting children and advocating for their needs. After joining The Ford Family Foundation as program officer in 2022, she has taken her passion for family support, infant and toddler mental health, and child abuse prevention to a new level.

The Foundation focuses on supporting rural families’ ability to provide children with a nurturing, safe and stable foundation for life. “This is a pretty ambitious goal, and my role is to help us think about how to get there,” Lee Ann says.

With graduate degrees in mental health counseling and education from Southern Oregon University and a graduate certificate in infant and toddler mental health from Portland State University, Lee Ann’s career has included counseling families around pregnancy and early parenting. She remains an active volunteer, including with the Peace at Home Advocacy Center in Douglas County.

Lee Ann grew up in the rural Mississippi Delta region of Arkansas and came to Oregon as an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer. She’s been here ever since. “What got me excited was the natural beauty, but what kept me here was the community,” she says. “It’s been an amazing opportunity to work and learn from all kinds of people.”
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