When Anne Kubisch joined The Ford Family Foundation as president in May, she brought with her decades of experience in philanthropy.
Kubisch replaced Norm Smith, who retired after serving as Foundation president for 16 years.
Kubisch has always worked in child, family and community success in various domains, including Latin America, West Africa and New York.
“I’ve always had the same mission but have been able to apply it in such different geographic locations and contexts,” Kubisch said, adding that she has advocated for community success nationally, in poor urban areas and now rural communities. “My kids are impressed that I’ve lived on five continents.”
Kubisch worked for 19 years at The Aspen Institute in New York, an international non-profit leadership development and policy studies organization. She founded and served as director of the Aspen Roundtable on Community Change, a national resource center that gleans lessons about how to improve outcomes for low-income children, families and neighborhoods, and advises policymakers, funders and practitioners on strategies for promoting vibrant and equitable communities.
Kubisch holds a master’s degree from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Tufts University. She is the daughter of a career Foreign Service Officer and grew up living in Sri Lanka, Brazil, Mexico, France and Greece. She is fluent in French and Spanish.
“I started looking for the perfect job, and I found it,” Kubisch told members of the Ford Scholar Alumni Association Board of Directors during their meeting this summer. “The move to Roseburg is such a welcome one for me. A change of life is really welcome – really, really welcome.”
Kubisch, 57, is married to Mark Montgomery, Professor of Economics at Stony Brook University in New York and Senior Research Associate at The Population Council in New York. They have two children. Marina, 20, attends Carleton College in Minnesota. Nicholas, 16, is a high school junior and lives with his father in New York.
Although she admits the challenge of being a “bi-coastal family,” Kubisch takes pride in her children.
“I’ve been able to raise two fabulous children and have a fulfilling career,” Kubisch said. “My kids are great.”
As president of the Foundation, Kubisch says, “I’m in a luxurious position.” Smith built it into a great foundation, and a lot of resources are already in place. She realizes that the Foundation has made incredible investments in Scholars and rural communities.
“We need to bring those together, weave, connect those investments – leverage everything we have,” she explained. “If we got mobilized, we could really impact this state.”
