The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation appoints Kristen Ward as Managing Director, Mental Health & Well-Being

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Ward will lead the strategy of the foundation’s Mental Health & Well-Being giving area

ATLANTA – September 2, 2026 – The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation has appointed Kristen Ward as managing director, Mental Health & Well-Being. In her new role, Ward will lead the strategy and execution of the foundation’s Mental Health & Well-Being giving area, which supports flourishing mental health and well-being for young people ages 0 to 18 across the nation. Ward will join the foundation on September 14 and will be based in Atlanta.

The foundation’s Mental Health & Well-Being portfolio has been led by Beth Brown since 2022. Under her leadership, the foundation developed and implemented its current strategy to help young people thrive at three distinct points in their lives: infancy, childhood and adolescence. Since November 2025, Brown has served in the dual roles of managing director, Mental Health & Well-Being and managing director, Effective Philanthropy and Learning. With Ward’s appointment, Brown will fully transition to managing director, Effective Philanthropy and Learning, where she will partner across the foundation’s giving areas to strengthen effectiveness and amplify impact.

Ward’s career has spanned the fields of mental and environmental health, women’s economic development and corporate philanthropic strategy development. Ward joins the Blank Foundation most recently from Mindful Philanthropy, an organization she co-founded, where she led the design of the organization’s full programmatic strategy as vice president, programs and knowledge. During her tenure at Mindful Philanthropy, she served as the central strategic advisor, partnering with national and regional foundations and individual philanthropists to design and implement high-impact mental health strategies across youth development, education, criminal justice and community well-being.

In addition to authoring more than 20 funder guidance documents at Mindful Philanthropy, Ward is the lead author of Health in Mind: A Philanthropic Guide to Mental Health and Addiction, a nationally recognized resource that helped position the field for more strategic, evidence-based grantmaking. While at the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for High Impact Philanthropy, she developed guidance for funders supporting vulnerable populations during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a focus on mental health, addiction and youth in crisis, while also advancing philanthropic opportunities for women’s economic empowerment. Throughout her career, she has leveraged data-driven, cross-sector approaches to address complex challenges at the intersection of health, well-being and economic opportunity.

As managing director, Mental Health & Well-Being, Ward will lead a team focused on partnering with organizations and opportunities across the country to achieve three outcomes that are critical to young people’s lives: helping parents establish secure emotional bonds with their infants, supporting children in developing resilience and a sense of belonging, and guiding teenagers toward developing a healthy relationship with digital technology.

Ward is eager to continue supporting programs addressing mental health and well-being.

“I am thrilled to join the team at the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation,” said Ward. “It is crucial to support young people’s mental health and well-being, from infancy through childhood and adolescence.”

Ward will serve as a member of the foundation’s leadership team, reporting to president, Fay Twersky.

“Kristen brings a unique combination of strategic philanthropy expertise, extensive experience in the field of mental health, and a deep commitment to improving mental health outcomes for young people,” said Twersky. “She has dedicated her career to helping funders drive meaningful impact, and I look forward to the leadership, insight and innovation she will bring to the foundation. We are also deeply grateful for the outstanding work Beth and the team have led over the past several years, building a strong foundation for our mental health and well-being efforts. Kristen’s expertise will help us build on that momentum and further advance this important work.”

About the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation 

The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation is a philanthropy founded to help transform lives and communities by uniting people across differences to find common cause. Started in 1995 by Arthur M. Blank, co-founder of The Home Depot, the foundation has granted more than $1.7 billion to charitable causes. Our collective giving areas are Atlanta’s Westside, Democracy, Environment, Mental Health and Well-Being, and Youth Development. Across these areas, we take on tough challenges by uniting the courage and compassion of our communities so we can all thrive together.  

In addition to the foundation’s priority areas of giving, the foundation oversees a large portfolio of grants and enduring founder-led initiatives, including veterans and the military; stuttering; and essential Atlanta nonprofit institutions, such as Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Shepherd Center, among others. The foundation will also continue to guide the seven associate-led giving committees operating across the Blank Family of Businesses. For more information, please visit www.blankfoundation.org.