Wayne Ford Email & Phone Number

I have served in the Iowa House of Representatives since 1997. I became the 10th African-American legislator in the State's history. Today, I am the longest-serving African-American legislator in Iowa's history. I am credited with inspiring other Black legislators to run, and now Iowa has six African-Americans serving this legislative season in the House of Representatives, the highest number to ever serve in the state’s history.

In 1992, I began a consulting firm, Wayne Ford & Associates (waynefordassoc.com). WFA helps businesses throughout the Midwest to recruit and retain minority employees. WFA works to empower non-profit community organizations through development of high-risk youth projects and fundraising. In addition, the firm collaborates with universities and colleges regarding the issues that face urban athletes who plan to make the transition to a rural collegiate setting.

Urban Dreams is a non-profit (www.urbandreams.org), United Way agency I founded and created to serve the needs of Des Moines’ inner-city residents. It has since become statewide and regional. This year, Urban Dreams plans to expand to Los Angeles, CA, Raleigh, NC and Washington, D.C. Urban Dreams has a working relationship with George Washington Carver’s alma mater Simpson College in Indianola, IA, and this collaboration has created one of the nation’s newest urban institutes. In addition, Urban Dreams will be opening an office in the spring of 2009 on the campus of the University of Iowa, one of the first ventures of this type in the nation. Between 1995 and 2006, Ford worked with Iowa State University and the University of Georgia on the Family and Com¬mu¬nity Health Study, the largest longitudinal study of African-American families conducted in the country at this time.