(Photo Courtesy of Yale Law School)
Heather Gerken, dean of Yale Law School, will become the Ford Foundation’s 11th president in November of this year, succeeding Darren Walker. Gerken is a nationally recognized expert on constitutional law and democracy and the second female to run the foundation. Susan Berresford was president from 1996 to 2007.
“Heather Gerken brings a wealth of experience working across the philanthropic and legal sectors that will only help sharpen the Ford Foundation’s operations and grantmaking,” said Francisco G. Cigarroa, M.D., chair of the board of trustees of the Ford Foundation. “In Heather, we have found a thoughtful and innovative leader with a knowledge and passion for justice that is centered on helping advance human achievement for all citizens. Her life’s work resonates with the mission of the Ford Foundation.”
Gerken prioritized addressing economic barriers to the legal profession and increasing access for underrepresented students at Yale Law School. 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 improved the number of students who are the first in their family to attend college, according to the announcement of Gerken’s appointment.
She also 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.
Gerken founded and leads Yale Law School’s San Francisco Affirmative Litigation Project Clinic, which helps students work with city attorneys to litigate cases on behalf of the city. For almost 20 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.
“It is a profound honor to join the Ford Foundation and build upon the legacy of those who came before me, particularly the astonishing Darren Walker,” said Gerken, via a statement. “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.”
The search for Gerken was led by the board of trustees and Russell Reynolds Associates. It began in 2024 when Walker announced that he would step down after more than a decade of leading the 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.
“I extend my warmest congratulations to Heather Gerken as she prepares to lead the Ford Foundation into its next chapter,” said Walker via a statement. “Her experience and dedication to philanthropy and the field of law will undoubtedly propel the foundation’s mission forward.”
Prior to her time at Yale, Gerken was a professor at Harvard Law School and was an associate at Jenner & Block, where she litigated voting rights cases and helped reach a significant settlement in a housing desegregation case. Gerken clerked for United States Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter and Judge Stephen Reinhardt in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Gerken received her juris doctor degree from the University of Michigan Law School and a bachelor of arts degree from Princeton University. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Law Institute. Gerken serves as a trustee of Princeton University and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
