Casey Family Programs announces election of three new members to Board of Trustees

Casey Family Programs announces the election of three new members to the foundation’s Board of Trustees: Lance G. Morgan, president and CEO of Ho-Chunk, Inc.; Richard J. Olin, J.D., MSW, retired senior vice president at Costco Wholesale Corporation; and Walter Howard Smith, Jr., Ph.D., retired deputy director at the Allegheny County Department of Human Services in Pennsylvania.

The three new members take their seats in September as several trustees prepare to step down in the coming years.

Based in Seattle, Casey Family Programs is the nation’s largest operating foundation focused on safely reducing the need for foster care and building Communities of Hope for children and families across America. Established in 1966 by Jim Casey, founder of United Parcel Service, the foundation works in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and two territories and with more than a dozen tribal nations to influence long-lasting improvements to the safety and success of children, families and the communities where they live.

“We are confident that each of our three new trustees will bring new perspectives and experiences as well as diversity, resulting in a stronger, more effective Board ready to help guide the foundation into the next 50 years of service,” said David C. Mills, chair of the Board of Trustees.

“Each of these individuals has a long track record of leadership in working to improve the lives of children and families,” said Dr. William C. Bell, Casey Family Programs president and CEO. “They will bring valuable skills, insight and understanding to our work of building hope in communities across America.”

Morgan founded Ho-Chunk, Inc., the economic development corporation of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, in 1994 and has helped to grow it into the largest minority-owned company in Nebraska. It focuses on creating nongaming economic development opportunities for the tribal community, including retail, hotels, construction and technology. A graduate of Harvard Law School, Morgan is also a partner in the nation’s largest Native American law firm, Fredericks, Peebles and Morgan.

Olin is a longtime Costco executive who recently retired. He brings not only a successful background in law and business, but also has extensive experience working for child- and family-serving organizations, including serving on the board of the Seattle-based nonprofit Treehouse and working for Youth Eastside Services earlier in his career. He graduated from the University of Puget Sound School of Law (now known as the University of Seattle School of Law) and has a master’s in social work from the University of Washington.

Smith’s role with the Allegheny County Department of Human Services included managing child welfare services and child abuse prevention and community services, a position from which he retired this summer. He is the former executive director of Family Resources, a private nonprofit organization that prevents and treats child abuse by serving more than 20,000 children, teens and adults in the Pittsburgh region. And he is a licensed psychologist with a private practice that specializes in treating children, couples and families.