Kara Inae Carlisle

President & CEO @The Ford Family Foundation

Roseburg, OR, US

The Ford Family Foundation is a private foundation headquartered in Roseburg, OR, with an office in Eugene, along with staff located statewide and in Siskiyou County, CA, which is our funding footprint. One of the largest private foundations in Oregon & one of the nation’s largest rural funders, we have a team of 57. We invest in scholarships, research, and visual arts statewide, with the majority of our grants and convenings focused on improving conditions for children, families, and communities in rural places. Through responsive good neighbor and strategic grants in rural Oregon and Siskiyou County, CA, we aim to improve opportunities and outcomes in the areas of early childhood development, post secondary success, and economic development. We have a deep commitment to community building as an approach to sustained change, and we invest in community-directed technical assistance so that communities can develop skills and capabilities that will help them make progress in areas important to them.Given less than 5% of philanthropic resources are invested into rural communities, we feel privileged to be in service and partnership with children, families, and communities in rural places and are committed to investing in a future vibrant for all its residents.

Claremont School of Theology

Master of Divinity, Religious Education and Urban Studies

Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management

Master of Business Administration (MBA), Management, Strategy, Innovation

Anderson University

Bachelor of Arts (BA)