LesLeigh D. Ford
Washington
Summary
Dynamic leader with extensive experience at the Urban Institute, excelling in policy analysis and grant writing. Proven track record of securing over $1M in funding to drive impactful research initiatives aimed at reducing racial wealth gaps. Skilled in stakeholder engagement and program management, fostering collaboration to enhance community outcomes.
Overview
19
19
years of professional experience
Work History
Associate Director and Practice Area Lead
Urban Institute
Washington
01.2022 - Current
- Leading a new Practice Area focused on Inclusive Policy Design and Community Impact comprised of approximately 20 senior fellows, researchers, policy analysts, and data scientists
- Directing the Equitable Wealth Building body of work which conducts research on and evaluates potentially high-impact proposals aimed at improving the likelihood of upward economic mobility and reducing racial wealth gaps by examining the effectiveness of interventions at each stage of the life cycle from birth to retirement
- Raised $150,000 in seed funding from the Ballmer Group to catalyze and launch the Black Family Thriving Initiative, a program of research which seeks to build understanding, conduct research, inform policy, and change the narrative about Black families in America with a particular focus on the Black middle class
- In addition to establishing a new program of research, I conducted and co-authored findings from a pilot study which examined the experiences of the Black American middle class with wealth and wealth building
- Following the publication of the pilot study, I secured an additional $400,000 to develop a new multimedia feature focused on the Black middle class, conduct a new analysis of Black wealth in the American South, and create a new policy and research consortium
- Developed a new research study with $300,000 in funding on the role of federal policy workforce, retirement, student debt, homeownership, entrepreneurship and access to capital, and health care in advancing progress on upward economic mobility for Black women
- Managed a two-year, $1M award and directed a research collaborative and learning community in partnership with Goldman Sachs that funded HBCU scholars to develop new research and policy recommendations to close the racial and gendered earnings and wealth gaps for Black women
- These activities contributed to the diversification of the literature on the racial wealth gap, amplified the research of scholars of color at HBCUs, MSIs, and PWIs, and put forth a new set of policy recommendations for local, state, federal, and organizational leaders to enable and strengthen wealth building for Black women
- Secured $500,000 from the California Health Care Foundation and co-led an analysis of the barriers that contribute to the underrepresentation of Black and Latinx healthcare professionals in California and the role of pathway programs in increasing diversity in the healthcare workforce to help address racial disparities in health care access and outcomes and ensure all Americans can pursue and attain high-skilled, professional careers
- This research led to new state level engagement on and philanthropic investments in education and workforce development programs for health care careers
- Secured $200,000 from the George Kaiser Family Foundation (GKFF) to lead the primary data collection for a landscape scan examining the maternity care landscape in Oklahoma
- The study presented findings and recommendations for promoting the midwifery model of care to reduce racial disparities in maternal and infant health
- The recommendations were designed to help develop new pathways to education and practice for Black midwives and assess the feasibility of expanding the maternal healthcare workforce pathway for midwives in Oklahoma
- Secured $250,000 in funding and co-facilitated a new leadership collaborative focused on nontraditional leaders with the goal of advancing a culture of health in partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF)
- The research conducted through the collaborative informed RWJF’s new internal strategy on how to identify, engage, and support equity focused leaders of color across the country
- Authored two first-of-its-kind Urban briefs on the policy history of reparations in the U.S
- And put forth a comprehensive social science focused national reparations research agenda for Black Americans
- Testified before the Committee on Business and Economic Development of the Council of the District of Columbia during a hearing on the Reparations Foundation Fund and Task Force Establishment Act of 2023
Policy Program Manager, Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy
Urban Institute
Washington
01.2021 - 12.2021
- Co-directed a landscape analysis for The Asian American Foundation (TAAF) focused on equity, inclusion, and justice for Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities
- This research helped to inform TAAF’s new strategy for identifying, engaging, and investing in AAPI justice focused organizations
- Facilitated the launch of the American Transformation Project, a new program of research at Urban, that aimed to provide evidence to philanthropic funders to guide investments in health, education, employment, and criminal justice
- This program of research provided new, catalyzing investments in early career researchers to develop new research to inform funder practices by providing evidence-based research and recommendations to address the urgent, evolving needs of America’s young people with a particular focus on the impact of demographic shifts and inequity in the American South and West
- Conducted a landscape scan and authored a corresponding brief which identified funding gaps and prospective funders to support the Black Girls’ Freedom Fund’s campaign to raise $1 billion dollars to invest in programs and policies to support Black girls and their families
Policy Associate, Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy
Urban Institute
Washington
06.2018 - 12.2020
- Led the primary data collection and analysis for a retrospective evaluation of the Institute of Museum and Library Services’ (IMLS) African American History and Culture (AAHC) grantmaking program
- The evaluation findings produced evidence of the AAHC’s program reach and impact and informed recommendations for strengthening its administrative practices
- Managed the Center’s partnership with the Citi Foundation Citi Community Progress Makers’ (CPM) grantees
- This partnership was designed to help local and community-based organizations build their data and evaluative capacity and to measure the cohort’s progress and impact over the grant term
- Managed an internal consulting team that partnered with the Long Island Community Foundation (LIFC) to establish a new racial equity donor collaborative
Summer Fellow, Executive Office
The Kresge Foundation
Troy
06.2016 - 08.2016
- Supported the application review process for the Drawing on Detroit Initiative which strengthens and accelerates efforts to replicate community and economic revitalization strategies proven in Detroit in other cities around the country
- Drafted internal grant reports to synthesize the accomplishments of American Cities Practice grantees for executive and board leadership
Program Manager
Mass Insight Education
Boston
08.2013 - 06.2014
- Partnered with senior district leadership and administrators to improve and refine standards-based instructional practice and improve the operating conditions of some of the nation’s lowest performing K-12 public schools
- Implemented new school-based academic and school culture programs alongside district leadership in dedicated transformation zones for Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) and Syracuse City Public Schools (SCSD)
- Managed external partnerships with National Center on Time and Learning, the Efficacy Institute, and the Center for Transformative Teacher Training to strengthen teacher effectiveness and student engagement
Elementary and Middle School Teacher
Detroit Public Schools/University Preparatory Academy
Detroit
08.2006 - 08.2012
- Adapted teaching methods and instructional strategies to promote learning in students of differing skill levels.
- Developed and implemented lesson plans to teach students in grades K-1 and 6-8.
- Maintained accurate records of student progress throughout the school year.
Education
Ph.D. - Sociology
Duke University
M.Ed. - Education Policy and Management
Harvard Graduate School of Education
M.A. - Educational Studies with Teacher Certification
University of Michigan
B.A. - Political Science and English
University of Michigan
Skills
- Policy analysis
- Grant writing
- Research design
- Program Management
- Program evaluation
- Data analysis
- Stakeholder engagement
Affiliations
- Co-Lead, Reparations Research Consortium, 10/01/23, present
- Mentor, The Institute for Research on Poverty (IRP) Economic Mobility Fellowship, 09/01/23, present
- Board member, The Playtime Project, 02/01/23, present
Publications
The Black Family Thriving Initiative, 03/01/24, https://www.urban.org/projects/black-family-thriving-initiative, Empowering a Thriving Black Middle Class, 03/01/25, https://www.urban.org/stories/black-middle-class-wealth, Participatory Grantmaking: A Test of the Effects on Grantee Selection, Wojcik, O., Ford, L., Hanson, K., Boyd, C., Ashley, S., 03/01/20, https://www.urban.org/research/publication/participatory-grantmaking-test-rubric-scoring-versus-popular-voting-selection-blinded-grantmaking-process, Four Ways to Build Black Wealth and Increase Economic Opportunity, Ford, L., Cusella, C., 11/01/24, https://www.urban.org/research/publication/four-ways-build-black-wealth-and-increase-economic-opportunity, Pathways to Upward Economic Mobility and Wealth Building for Black Women: Six Policy Areas and Recommendations for Federal Policy Action, Ford, L., Cusella, C., Biu, O., Mitchell, F., Sawo, M., Neal, M., 07/01/24, https://www.urban.org/research/publication/pathways-upward-economic-mobility-and-wealth-building-black-women, Shining a Light on the Black Middle Class, 11/01/23, https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/shining-light-black-middle-class, From Emancipation to Reparations, Ensuring Black Americans Can Enjoy Economic and Social Inclusion in the United States, 06/01/23, https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/emancipation-reparations-ensuring-black-americans-can-enjoy-economic-and-social, Testimony of LesLeigh Ford before the Committee on Business and Economic Development of the Council of the District of Columbia, 06/01/23, https://www.urban.org/research/publication/testimony-lesleigh-ford-committee-business-and-economic-development-council, Closing the Racial Wealth Gap, Disrupting Poverty Conference, Boston University, 03/01/24, Health Equity and Economic Justice Summit. A Conversation in Pursuit of Liberation: A Case for Reparations, Greater Washington Community Foundation, 04/01/24
References
References available upon request.
Timeline
Associate Director and Practice Area Lead
Urban Institute
01.2022 - Current
Policy Program Manager, Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy
Urban Institute
01.2021 - 12.2021
Policy Associate, Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy
Urban Institute
06.2018 - 12.2020
Summer Fellow, Executive Office
The Kresge Foundation
06.2016 - 08.2016
Program Manager
Mass Insight Education
08.2013 - 06.2014
Elementary and Middle School Teacher
Detroit Public Schools/University Preparatory Academy
08.2006 - 08.2012
Ph.D. - Sociology
Duke University
M.Ed. - Education Policy and Management
Harvard Graduate School of Education
M.A. - Educational Studies with Teacher Certification
University of Michigan
B.A. - Political Science and English
University of Michigan
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