Born and raised in Oregon, Lisa Mensah joined Oregon Community Foundation as the third president and CEO in September 2022 following an illustrious career that has taken her from working on rural poverty with the Ford Foundation to serving as an Under Secretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, managing a $215 billion loan portfolio, to leading Opportunity Finance Network, the nation’s largest network of Community Development Financial Institutions. Ms. Mensah serves on the Boards of Ecotrust, Feeding America, Fidelity Bank of Ghana, and Heritage and Cultural Society of Africa (USA) and is widely considered an expert on access to capital in low-wealth communities. She holds an M.A. from Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies and a B.A. from Harvard University
