Heather Gerken Named to 2026 TIME 100 Most Influential People List
Published in Time
TIME named Ford Foundation President Heather Gerken to the 2026 TIME100, its annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. The full list and related tributes appear in the April 27, 2026, issue of TIME, available on newsstands on Friday, April 17, and now online here.
The list recognizes the impact, innovation and achievement of the world’s most influential individuals.
As the Mellon Foundation President Elizabeth Alexander wrote for Gerken’s TIME100 tribute, Gerken is inspiring for “her constant understanding that democracy endures not through rhetoric alone, but through the daily work of people prepared to defend it.”
The Ford Foundation
The Ford Foundation is an independent organization working to address inequality and build a future grounded in justice. For 90 years, it has supported visionaries on the frontlines of social change worldwide, guided by its mission to strengthen democratic values, reduce poverty and injustice, promote international cooperation, and advance human achievement. Today, with an endowment of $16 billion, the foundation has headquarters in New York and 10 regional offices across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. Learn more at www.fordfoundation.org.
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