June 1, 2023 4:10 p.m.

The Ford Family Foundation Board of Directors has announced that Kara Inae Carlisle will join the foundation as its third president and CEO this fall.

A TFFF release said Carlisle is preceded by Anne Kubish, whose tenure spans ten years, and Norm Smith, who served as the founding president from 1997 to 2013. Carlisle currently serves as the vice president of programs for the McKnight Foundation in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Carlisle said, “I am beyond thrilled to join The Ford Family Foundation at this exciting moment in the organization’s journey and in this chapter of our nation’s history”. Carlisle said, “Having spent much of my childhood in a rural community, this work is a homecoming for me. Engaging the strength, creativity, voice and vision of rural communities is essential as we shape a hopeful future for all of us”.

The release said Carlisle brings deep experience in community-based philanthropy, with over twenty years in the social sector. In her roles at the McKnight Foundation and previously, at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, her career trajectory has many touchpoints with the foundation’s key impact areas of family, education and community. Carlisle has worked in the fields of children, youth and family development, postsecondary success, community economic development and more.

Current president and CEO of The Ford Family Foundation, Anne Kubisch said, “Kara is the type of leader our organization and rural Oregon needs at this moment”. Kubisch said, “She’s a natural community builder, humble learner, and will bring her expertise to implement the ambitious ten-year strategic plan we have laid out for the Foundation’s work”.

Board of Directors Chair Toby Luther said, “We worked diligently to ensure that the Foundation’s next president and CEO would be the right fit for our goals and the communities we serve”. Luther said, “The interest we received from applicants across the country speaks volumes to the work Anne and our staff have done to elevate the Foundation’s profile nationally and to build its reputation as a funder dedicated to rural communities”.

Carlisle said “I look forward to becoming a part of the community and building on the proud legacy and ongoing work of the Foundation’s staff, Board, and partners”. Carlisle and her family will relocate from their home in Minneapolis to Roseburg, where she will serve from the foundation’s headquarters.