President and CEO, Heifer International and President, Heifer International Foundation, Celebrates 10 Years of Leadership

Heifer Project International
Tuesday, 1 June 1999

LITTLE ROCK, AR — This month, Heifer International president Jo Luck celebrates 10 years of leadership with the organization.

Jo Luck became President and CEO of Heifer International (HPI) in July, 1992. She also serves as President of Heifer International Foundation (HIF). Previously, she served for three years as director of International Programs, where she was responsible for Heifer's global program for sustainable development, which currently consists of some 300 projects in more than 30 countries, including the United States.

Prior to joining HPI, Jo Luck served as executive director of the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism for more than a decade. Jo Luck was then Governor Bill Clinton's first cabinet appointee in January, 1979. During her tenure, the economic impact of the state's tourism industry doubled from one billion to two billion dollars. She was recognized for initiating innovative fund-raising efforts through private/public partnerships. Jo Luck also served as the first executive director of the Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, an organization modeled after the Children's Defense Fund in Washington, DC.

Jo Luck has received numerous awards. Most recently, she was named as one of the top 100 women of Arkansas for 1999 - an award she has received each year from Arkansas Business Publishing Group, since its inception in 1994. She has been awarded the Distinguished Leader Award by the University of Arkansas College of Business Administration. She was elected to the Arkansas Tourism Industry's Hall of Fame for her work to preserve the natural resources in the "Natural State." She enjoys the distinction of being one of the first women members of Rotary International in Arkansas. She is also the recipient of the Humanitarian Award from the National Conference of Christians and Jews in the State of Arkansas (1997) and the Rotary International "Service Above Self" award (1998), which is Rotary's highest honor.

Her business travels have included a trip to Bosnia-Herzegovina on a fact-finding mission by invitation from the United Nations High Commission on Refugees. She was also a member of an evaluation team of non-government development specialists invited by UNICEF to visit Cuba with the purpose of reviewing programs and services impacting children and families. For Heifer Project, she has traveled to such countries as Nepal, Zimbabwe, China, Indonesia, South Africa, Honduras and Ecuador for review and evaluation of sustainable development projects.

Jo Luck attended Hendrix College in Arkansas, serving as the first woman president of the Alumni Association in 1982-83. She also attended the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and served on their executive committee of the Alumni Advisory Board. Jo Luck currently sits on the boards of Agricultural Missions, PYO University Center for Collaboration in Development and the Conference for International Development. She is a founding member of Women Executives in State Government (WESG), the International Women's Form, and the Women's Leadership Forum of Arkansas. She is one of two representatives from Arkansas to the U.S. Women's Conference Circle, organized by First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton after the 1996 IWF Conference in Beijing. She also served as co-chair for the InterAction Forum (1996-1997), with the topic being "Investing in People: Rights, Responsibilities and Resources."

Since 1944, Heifer International has provided struggling families a way to become self-reliant for food and income. Through the gift of livestock and training, a family can obtain milk, eggs, wool and other income-producing benefits to feed, clothe and educate their children. Each gift multiplies because every family that receives a Heifer Project animal promises to "pass on the gift" by giving one or more of their animal's offspring to another family in need.

Heifer International currently supports over 300 projects in 40 countries, including the United States, that create sustainable small-scale farm enterprises to improve nutrition and supplement income. Local community groups conceive and manage Heifer projects, empowering them to solve their own problems and equipping the next generation to face challenges successfully.

For more information, or to contact Heifer Project International, see their website at: www.heifer.org