Ethan Frey is part of the foundation's Civic Engagement & Government team. In this role, he works in collaboration with programs across the foundation to develop and implement tailored grant-making strategies in six states—Texas, Florida, Louisiana, New York, Michigan, and Minnesota—where the foundation will focus its work to build the capacity of people-centered ecosystems seeking long-term, statewide change over the next five years.
Ethan joined Ford in 2013 as a program associate on the Civic Engagement & Government team. During his tenure, he has worked primarily on the foundation's organizing, voting rights, census, and voter engagement programs. Previously, Ethan served as a regional field director in Columbus, Ohio, for the 2012 presidential campaign and before that as a field organizer in Toledo during the 2008 general election campaign. He also worked to unionize low-wage workers in Miami, Florida, as an organizer for the international trade union Unite Here, which represents food service, hotel, and gaming employees. At Project Renewal, a nonprofit social service provider, he worked to protect public benefits for low-income New Yorkers as a non-attorney civil legal advocate.
Ethan is a 2010 graduate of Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania. He lives in Brooklyn with his husband, James.