Missoula’s Daniel Kemmis to Chair Prominent Northwest Area Foundation Board of St. Paul, Minn.

Daniel Kemmis of Missoula was named chair of the 13-member Northwest Area Foundation Board http://www.nwaf.org during its recent annual meeting in St. Paul, Minn.

Kemmis is a senior fellow at The University of Montana’s O’Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West http://www.crmw.org. A Harvard graduate, he has served as minority leader and speaker in the Montana House of Representatives and is a former Missoula mayor.

The Northwest Area Foundation works to reduce poverty long-term in Minnesota, Iowa, the Dakotas, Montana, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. These states were served by the Great Northern Railway, which was founded by James J. Hill, whose son, Louis, established the foundation in 1934.

"I am both honored and challenged by being asked to chair the board during this period of transition in the foundation’s history," Kemmis said. "It was nearly a decade ago that this foundation adopted a highly focused mission — to help communities reduce poverty. Today, we are at a point where we can begin to evaluate the impact of this innovative and very challenging approach."

The foundation board also named Dorothy Bridges vice chair. Bridges, a UM graduate with a liberal arts degree, is CEO of Franklin National Bank in Minneapolis – and one of only a few African-American women to head a banking institution.

Kemmis assumes his new position during a period of significant transition for the foundation. Longtime foundation President and CEO Karl Stauber recently resigned to become president of Danville Regional Foundation in Danville, Va. The board has started a national search for his replacement.

"Our board is undertaking a national search for a president and CEO at the same time we are revising our strategic plan to help us better achieve our mission," Kemmis said.

Kemmis already leads the board’s strategic planning committee, and he will continue in that role.

The Northwest Area Foundation does not accept unsolicited grant requests. For more information, visit http://www.nwaf.org or call 651-224-9635.

http://news.umt.edu/index.asp?sec=1&too=100&eve=8&dat=7/20/2007&npa=1729