ABOUT THE FOUNDER
Iowa State Representative Wayne Ford
From the Hood to the Hill: An Urban Dream!
 In 1951, Wayne Ford was born in Washington D.C.’s inner city. Although he was a success on the football field and was named all-conference defensive tackle for Ballou High School, he was also voted "most likely not to succeed" by his classmates because of his involvement in various juvenile crimes.
Yet upon his graduation in 1969, Ford’s received a scholarship to play football for Rochester Junior College in Minnesota. It’s a move he credits with saving his life. He continued his football career and his education at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, and would graduate in 1974 on the Dean’s List with a Bachelor’s Degree in Education.
Ford hosted his first U.S. Presidential Forum in 1976. The organization was named Concerned Citizens for Minority Affairs; and many presidential candidates sent their surrogates. In 1984 that Ford and Latino community leader Mary Campos co-founded the Brown & Black Presidential Forum (BBPresForum.org). The debate is now the nation’s oldest ongoing minority presidential forum. In 2000 and 2004 the event, which precedes the Iowa caucuses, was televised globally by MSNBC and featured nearly all of the Democratic presidential candidates. In December, 2007, the Forum was telecast regionally and nationally by Mediacom and HDNet and broadcast globally by Sirius Satellite Radio.
In 1985, Ford founded Urban Dreams (UrbanDreams.org), a United Way Agency, to serve the needs of Des Moines’ inner-city residents. Ford has since served as the Executive Director of the non-profit social service organization and both he and Urban Dreams have been honored with numerous awards for their dedication to helping others. In 2008, Urban Drams was a finalist for The Des Moines Register’s Aurora Award.
In 1992, Ford began his own consulting firm, Wayne Ford & Associates (WayneFordAssoc.com). The company helps businesses throughout Iowa recruit and retain minority employees while working to empower nonprofit community organizations through development of high-risk youth projects and fundraising. WF&A is also developing a collaboration with the Retired National Basketball Players Association aptly named P.L.A.Y.E.R.S. (Providing Links to Athletes and Youth with Empowering Resources in Society). The program will target the unique issues facing both collegiate and high school athletics.
For six years, beginning in 1990, Ford was called "the voice of urban Iowans" as host of his own weekly talk show on Des Moines’ WHO-AM radio, one of the few 50,000 watt clear channel radio stations in the country. Between 1995 and 2006, he worked with Iowa State University and the University of Georgia on the Family and Community Health Study, the largest longitudinal study of African-American families conducted in the country at this time.
In 1996, Ford was elected Iowa State Representative (RepWayneFord.com) and became only the tenth African-American in the state’s history to hold such a position. His district includes some of the most affluent and poorest areas in Iowa. Ford now stands as the longest-serving African-American in the state’s history and has run unopposed in every election since his first.
Ford’s rise from the D.C. ghetto to the Iowa capitol has been chronicled in numerous publications, including The Des Moines Register, The Washington Times, The Washington Post, The Source and Parade. In 2001, award-winning journalist Dan Rather personally selected Ford’s unique life story for his best-selling book, The American Dream.
Ford has been inducted into numerous Halls of Fame, including Rochester Community College’s Alumni Hall of Fame in 1994, Drake University’s Double-D award for athletics and civic involvement in 1995, Des Moines B’nai Brith Sports Hall of Fame in 2002 and the Iowa State African-American Hall of Fame in 2004. In 2008, the Iowa Commission on the Status of African Americans made Ford the first recipient of its Harold Washington, Jr., Pinnacle Award, in recognition of his impact on the African-American community. Also in 2008, Ford was a finalist for The Des Moines Register’s Iowa Star Award.
Since 2007, Mr. Ford has held the position of First Vice Chair of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators’ Business, Finance, and Insurance Committee.
Ford and his wife, Romonda, an Assistant Polk County Attorney, reside in Des Moines where they attend Union Baptist Church. Aside from his work in the community and in the statehouse, Ford is currently working on his autobiography, From the Hood to the Hill: An Urban Dream, and is meeting with producers in Hollywood about some potential projects productions based on his life.
P.O. Box 5042, Des Moines, IA 50305
work: (515) 288-4742 | mobile: (515) 720-3495 | email: wford14275@aol.com
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