The Ford Foundation has also announced the election of Amy Falls to serve as a member of its Board of Trustees. Falls is the Chief Investment Officer and Vice President for Investments at The Rockefeller University, where she manages its $1.8 billion endowment.
“We’re thrilled to have Amy join our board,” said Darren Walker, President of the Ford Foundation. “She both offers us deep knowledge on endowment management, and is committed to our values of fairness and equal access to opportunity for all. We will benefit enormously from her experience, insight and wise counsel.”
Falls currently guides the investment strategy for the Rockefeller University endowment, which supports the university’s mission of research and graduate education in the biomedical sciences.
Prior to her current position Falls served as Chief Investment Officer at Andover (Phillips Academy), where she was chosen as a Rising Star of Foundations and Endowments by the publishers of Institutional Investor. She also previously served as Managing Director and Global Fixed Income Strategist for Morgan Stanley, and served as a member of the Fixed Income Management Committee and the firm’s Global Asset Allocation Committee.
Falls received her B.A. in History from Georgetown University and a Master's in International Development from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. She has taught on topics of international investing and risk management, including at the Athena Center for Leadership Studies at Barnard College.
Ford Foundation trustees are elected by the full board and serve six-year terms. Trustees set broad policy relating to grantmaking, geographic focus, investments, governance and professional standards, and they oversee internal and independent audits. The foundation’s trustees hail from four continents and have extensive experience in the worlds of higher education, business and finance, technology, law, government and the nonprofit sector.