AdminThe Ford Foundation has appointed Heather Gerken as its new president, succeeding Darren Walker.
This was announced by the Chair of the board of trustees of the Ford Foundation, Dr. Francisco Cigarroa, on Tuesday, July 1.
According to a statement released by the Foundation, Gerken, who is the current dean of Yale Law School and a nationally recognized expert on constitutional law and democracy, will assume office as the 11th president of the organisation in November 2025.
Cigarroa said Gerken has a wealth of experience, having worked in philanthropic and legal sectors that she would deploy to “help sharpen the Ford Foundation’s operations and grantmaking.”
He noted that Gerken’s life and work align with the Ford Foundation’s mission.
“In Heather, we have found a thoughtful and innovative leader with a knowledge and passion for justice that is centered on the values of democracy and helping advance human achievement for all citizens. Her life’s work resonates with the mission of the Ford Foundation,” Cigarroa stated.
Describing the qualities of Heather Gerken, Paula Moreno, who served on the presidential search committee of the Ford Foundation board of trustees said she “brings exceptional intellect, inclusive leadership, and a profound commitment to justice around the world.”
“As only the second woman to lead the Ford Foundation, where we reimagine the world through equality and hope, Heather will drive bold innovation and inspire transformative systemic change with urgency and vision.”
The statement highlighted Gerken’s roles in her capacity as dean of Yale Law School and the Sol & Lillian Goldman Professor of Law, including addressing economic barriers to the legal profession and increasing access for underrepresented students.
Under her leadership, Yale Law School launched the first full-tuition scholarships for students from low-income backgrounds, increased veteran student representation from 1% to 10%, and significantly improved the number of students who are the first in their families to attend college. She led the withdrawal of major law schools from the US News and World Report ranking in response to concerns that the ranking’s methodology negatively impacted support for public interest law careers, need-based aid, and recruiting students from working-class backgrounds.
She also founded and leads Yale Law School’s innovative San Francisco Affirmative Litigation Project Clinic, which helps students work with city attorneys to litigate cases on behalf of the city. For almost twenty years, the clinic has helped the city win significant victories, including a multimillion-dollar settlement in the opioid litigation and the landmark case that legalized same-sex marriage in California.
The incoming president of the Ford Foundation, Heather Gerken, expressed gratitude for the opportunity to join the Ford Foundation to build upon the legacy of her predecessors, especially Darren Walker.
“I am deeply grateful for this opportunity and look forward to working with Ford staff and the board of trustees to protect democracy and the rule of law and further our mission to create a more just and fair world for everyone,” Gerken stated.
The statement explained that Gerken’s appointment followed an extensive national and international search led by the board of trustees and Russell Reynolds Associates, which began in 2024 when Walker announced that he would step down after more than a decade of leading the Ford Foundation. Walker oversaw some of the foundation’s most influential work, from the evolution of its mission to focus on inequality and social justice to improving the way Ford and many of its peer foundations conduct grantmaking.
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Walker congratulated Gerken on her appointment, noting that “Her experience and dedication to philanthropy and the field of law will undoubtedly propel the foundation’s mission forward.”
Before joining Yale, Gerken taught at Harvard Law School as a professor and worked as an associate at Jenner & Block, where she fought for voting rights and helped settle a big housing desegregation case. In the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Gerken has served as a clerk for Judge Stephen Reinhardt and Justice David H. Souter of the United States Supreme Court.
Gerken graduated from Princeton University with a Bachelor of Arts degree and the University of Michigan Law School with a Juris Doctor. Both the American Law Institute and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences count her among their members. In addition to the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Gerken is a trustee of Princeton University.
Gerken’s scholarly writings have been featured in The Atlantic, The Boston Globe, NPR, The New York Times, and Time Magazine. She is the author of The Democracy Index: Why Our Election System is Failing and How to Fix It, and she edited Race, Reform, and Regulation of the Electoral Process: Recurring Puzzles in American Democracy.
The Ford Foundation has been operating in West Africa since 1960 and has its West Africa regional office in Lagos, Nigeria, headed by Dr ChiChi Aniagolu-Okoye as Regional Director
