The Aspen Institute announced today that Anne Kubisch, director of the Roundtable on Community Change, will depart the Institute in May to become the President and CEO of the Ford Family Foundation (TFFF) in Roseburg, OR. The foundation works in Oregon and Northern California, and its mission is “successful citizens and vital rural communities.” TFFF was established by Kenneth Ford, the founder of Roseburg Forest Products, Inc., and his wife, Hallie Ford, in 1996 after a lifetime of philanthropic activity, and is now the largest private foundation in Oregon by asset size.

“The Ford Family Foundation has made such an impressive contribution to child, family, and community development in Oregon,” said Kubisch. “I am looking forward to combining my national perspective on what promotes community success with the on-the-ground experience and expertise of TFFF’s staff, grantees, and partners. It’s my chance to go deep in one place on the issues that I have been passionate about for my whole life.”

Kubisch established the Roundtable on Community Change at the Aspen Institute in 1994 after having spent 10 years at the international Ford Foundation (no relation to The Ford Family Foundation in Oregon), initially working on Latin American programs, then as Representative in Nigeria, and finally as Deputy Director of the Urban Poverty Program.

“Anne has built the Roundtable on Community Change into a premier national knowledge center about community building in disadvantaged locations across the country,” said Walter Isaacson, president of the Aspen Institute.

The publications in the Roundtable’s series, Voices from the Field I, II, and III, are the most comprehensive state-of-the-field analyses of community change initiatives, and serve as basic resources for policymakers, funders, and practitioners. The Roundtable is especially well known for its pioneering work on evaluation of community initiatives, particularly the theory of change approach to planning and evaluation, and for its work on structural racism.

“The Roundtable’s Racial Equity Leadership Development (RELD) program is really a flagship program of The Aspen Institute,” said Elliot Gerson, executive vice president for Policy and Public Programs.

The RELD program trained more than 500 people in its five-day seminar, and the alumni are carrying out wide range of racial equity initiatives in their home communities. More than 4,000 people have participated in shorter racial equity training sessions.

The Aspen Institute maintains its commitment to the community building and racial equity work of the Roundtable, and will be working the Anne and the rest of the Roundtable staff over the next three months to determine how the work will be configured going forward. More information on the Roundtable’s work can be found at http://www.aspeninstitute.org/policy-work/community-change.

To see The Ford Family Foundation press release and learn more about the foundation, visit: http://www.tfff.org/AboutUs/TheFordFamilyFoundationSelectsNewPresidentC/tabid/370/Default.aspx.

The Aspen Institute is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, DC. Its mission is to foster leadership based on enduring values and to provide a nonpartisan venue for dealing with critical issues. The Institute is based in Washington, DC; Aspen, Colorado; and on the Wye River on Maryland's Eastern Shore. It also has offices in New York City and an international network of partners. For more information, visit www.aspeninstitute.org.

Aspen Institute

Aspen Institute

The Aspen Institute is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, DC. Its mission is to foster leadership based on enduring values and to provide a nonpartisan venue for dealing with critical issues. The Institute has campuses in Aspen, Colorado, and on the Wye River on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. It also maintains offices in New York City and has an international network of partners. For more information, visit www.aspeninstitute.org or follow on Twitter @AspenInstitute.

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