PNW announces new Director of Grantmaking
Ryan Smith, PNW Director of Grantmaking
We are pleased to share that Ryan Smith has accepted the role of Director of Grantmaking at Philanthropy Northwest. Ryan joins PNW to lead the final grantmaking phase of the Thriving Communities Program, a three-year partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), designed to help local organizations address the environmental and public health challenges that matter most to their communities. The Thriving Communities Program will distribute up to $48 million in grants across Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington, including tribal nations within this region. Ryan brings more than 24 years of international program management and federal grants experience to his new role as Director of Grantmaking at Philanthropy Northwest.
Ryan spent the bulk of his career with Chemonics International, where he led small-grants programs for USAID in post-conflict Nepal and post-election Kenya — managing teams with the aim of keeping grant-making responsive to target communities under difficult circumstances. He went on to serve in a variety of leadership roles on similar programs in Ukraine, Sudan, North Macedonia, and Lithuania, including most recently supporting Ukraine's frontline communities. Much of his career has been spent navigating the balance between federal compliance requirements and the practical realities communities face — a tension that drew him directly to this role and to Philanthropy Northwest's mission of making federal resources genuinely accessible to underinvested communities.
Ryan holds a graduate degree in urban and regional planning from Virginia Tech and an undergraduate degree in environmental studies from the University of Kansas. He is a returned Peace Corps volunteer, having served in rural Nepal at the start of his career — an experience that pointed him toward community-driven development work. Ryan lives in Bellingham, where he has been humbled as a fruit farmer and focused on supporting his teenage children as they navigate their own lives.
Philanthropy Northwest is a diverse network of philanthropic organizations working across Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming. We bring together a thriving community of grantmakers dedicated to supporting strong communities through collective learning, centering equity and racial justice, and investing in innovation. We believe philanthropy is at its best when it is collaborative and inclusive.
Carolyn Ho Consulting works closely with a diversity of mission-focused organizations and professionals to support leadership transition and offer career & leadership coaching. We were honored to partner with Philanthropy Northwest on this important search. To learn more or inquire about engaging CHC, please email info@carolynhoconsulting.com. We look forward to hearing from you!
