Heather Gerken Named Next Ford Foundation President

Heather Gerken, current dean of Yale Law School, has been appointed the 11th president of the Ford Foundation, succeeding Darren Walker who announced his resignation in July 2024 after eleven years. Chair Francisco Cigarroa made the announcement. Gerken will assume the role in November. At Yale, she launched full-tuition scholarships for low-income students and founded the San Francisco Affirmative Litigation Project Clinic. She previously clerked for Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter and Judge Stephen Reinhardt, worked at Jenner & Block in Washington D.C., and taught at Harvard Law School before joining Yale in 2006. Walker praised her experience in philanthropy and law. The Ford Foundation, with a $16 billion endowment, focuses on reducing poverty and injustice, strengthening democratic values, promoting international cooperation, and advancing human achievement. Under Walker, it supported arts programs including Jeffrey Gibson's 2024 Venice Biennale pavilion, Los Angeles Museum of Art, New York's The Kitchen, and the Whitney.