Jennifer Ford Reedy

Jen has been president of the Bush Foundation since September 2012. The Bush Foundation invests in great ideas and the people who power them in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and 23 Native nations. The Foundation was established in 1953 by Archibald Bush, who played a key role in growing 3M into one of the world’s leading companies.

Prior to joining the Bush Foundation, Jen served as chief of staff and vice president of strategy for the St. Paul and Minnesota Foundation, where she led the creation of GiveMN.org and Give to the Max Day. Jen was also a consultant with McKinsey and Company for nine years and directed the Itasca Project, a CEO-led regional civic initiative in the Twin Cities. Her current volunteer roles include serving on the boards of Independent Sector and Council on Foundations, on the Executive Leadership Council for the Itasca Project and the Executive Council of the GroundBreak Coalition, and as an election judge.

Jen is an enthusiastic student and teacher of philanthropic history and strategy and has developed and taught courses for practitioners and at the university level. She is a frequent speaker on topics related to leadership, philanthropy, and equity, including at the Aspen Ideas Festival and the Skoll World Forum.

Jen has a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Kansas and a Master’s degree from the University of Chicago. She has been honored as a “40 Under 40” leader by the Minneapolis-Saint Paul Business Journal, as one of the “100 Minnesotans You Should Know” by Twin Cities Business Magazine, and as a NextGen Fellow by Independent Sector.