Dedicated to Promoting Peace and Preserving Oregon’s Natural Beauty and Resources
The Jubitz Family Foundation reflects a strong multi-generational commitment to community service, philanthropy, and environmental stewardship. Following the sale of DAT Services, Al and Nancy Jubitz, together with their three daughters, Elizabeth, Katherine, and Sarah, established the foundation in 2001. The Foundation is not affiliated with Jubitz Corporation.
Our Investment Policy
The Jubitz Family Foundation has a firm and extensive socially responsible investment policy and conducts quarterly portfolio reviews to ensure adherence to our core beliefs in anti-militarism and environmental protection.
JFF at 25
Since our founding 25 years ago, the mission of the Jubitz Family Foundation has shifted in response to the needs and interests of the communities we serve. As a small family foundation, we focus our resources to make a deeper impact with a smaller group of partners. Some areas have been phased out. Others have expanded. We are again entering a period of transition.
In 2020, we launched Peacebuilding for the Earth to connect our work in peace and the environment. Climate change threatens the basic needs of all living beings. Oregon is no exception. We see risks to livelihoods and community stability. Through an environmental peacebuilding lens, we support constructive and nonviolent responses to these pressures.
In our peace work, we face militarism as the force that drives conflict and insecurity. Militarism also causes extreme environmental harm through resource extraction, pollution, and the destruction linked to war. We see environmental peacebuilding as an antidote. It protects people, planet, and peace by addressing environmental stress without violence or exclusion.
As this work grew, it shaped our overall grantmaking. Environmental Peacebuilding became the clear direction for our evolution. We are now entering a new phase grounded in this commitment.
Founding Directors
M. Albin (Al) Jubitz, Jr.
Full bio
Al Jubitz is a lifelong advocate for peace, environmental stewardship, and community service. A native Oregonian, he attended Yale University and the University of Oregon School of Business before joining his family’s business, Jubitz Corporation. Over 34 years, he helped grow the company into a nationally recognized leader in transportation services before retiring to focus on philanthropy and nonprofit leadership. In 2001, Al and his wife Nancy, along with their three daughters, established the Jubitz Family Foundation, reflecting a strong multi-generational commitment to philanthropy. The foundation funds organizations focused on peacebuilding and environmental sustainability. Beyond philanthropy, Al has been a vocal advocate for climate action and sustainable transportation, championing initiatives that reduce carbon emissions and promote clean energy solutions. A third-generation Rotarian, Al joined the Rotary Club of Portland in 1977 and served as president from 2002–2003. Recognizing Rotary’s potential to promote nonviolent conflict resolution, he co-founded and funds the Rotarian Action Group for Peace, now with members in 71 countries. He has served on multiple nonprofit boards and is a Senior Fellow of the American Leadership Forum of Oregon.
Elizabeth (Betsy) J. Sayler, MD
Full bio
Betsy is a physician of internal medicine, having received a B.A from Yale University and completed her medical training at the University of Washington. She and her husband have raised two grown sons and live in Spearfish, South Dakota.
Katherine (Kathy) H. Jubitz
Full bio
Kathy is a graduate of Skidmore College and lives in Hood River, Oregon with her family. A fierce environmental advocate, she has worked on many restorative and protective initiatives throughout the Northwest. She serves on the board of Ecochallenge.org and assists staff with the Foundation’s Environmental portfolio.
Sarah C. Jubitz
Full bio
Sarah completed her undergraduate work at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, and her master’s degree at Northeastern University. She is a clinical exercise physiologist and lives with her husband and young son near Boston, Massachusetts.
Staff
Kelsey Coolidge, Director of Environmental Peacebuilding, War Prevention Initiative
Environmental Peacebuilding Grantmaking Portfolio
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Kelsey Coolidge (she/her/hers) is a social science researcher and non-profit professional with a specialization in peace and conflict, gender, urbanization, and environmental sustainability. This expertise is crafted from a curiosity to better understand current global challenges in order to create a more just, sustainable, and peaceful future. Kelsey is driven to translate vision into action by employing monitoring and evaluation techniques as well as data-based evidence to help non-profits thrive. She joins the War Prevention Initiative after six years of experience in research, non-profit administration, and strategic communications.
She is published author of multiple reports, op-ed pieces, and discussion papers. Her writing has appeared in the Washington Post’s The Monkey Cage, Daily Camera, Inkstick Media, and other organizational blogs.
She received her master’s in International Administration from the Korbel School for International Studies at the University of Denver in 2016. Her bachelor’s degree is from the Seton Hall School of Diplomacy at Seton Hall University in 2012. She enjoys testing the upper limits of her phone’s data capacity with photos of her two cats, Biggie and Tupac, as well as soaking in the natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest.
Lauren Forman, Executive Director, Jubitz Family Foundation
Administration and Operations
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Lauren joined the Jubitz Family Foundation in 2019 to provide administrative management. She enjoys building the structure behind the action – freeing staff and consultants to better fulfill the mission. She thrives on helping identify people’s strengths and finding creative solutions to business challenges.
First arriving in Oregon as a college student at Willamette University, Lauren has been active in the Portland community for over 25 years, serving on several nonprofit boards. With a Master’s in Philanthropy and Nonprofit Management from the Indiana University Center on Philanthropy, Lauren has administered several nonprofit organizations and family offices. An avid golfer, Lauren’s passion for sports is often a topic of conversation with family and friends. She and her husband live in the San Diego area.
Patrick T. Hiller, Executive Director, War Prevention Initiative
Peace Grantmaking Portfolio Manager
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Patrick T. Hiller (he/him) is a peace and conflict researcher who links evidence to action across the peace ecosystem.
He holds a Visiting Lecturer appointment in the Conflict Resolution Program at Portland State University and founded the Peace Science Digest to translate research into practice for funders, practitioners, and advocates. His commentaries appear in outlets including Inkstick Media, The National Interest, Foreign Policy in Focus, and others.
Patrick helps shape the field through service roles. He sits on the Steering Committee of the Steering Committee of the Peace and Security Funders Group and the board of the Oregon Peace Institute. He serves on the Strategy and Development Committee of the Global Leadership Foundation and is Vice-President of the International Peace Research Association Foundation.
He holds a Ph.D. in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from Nova Southeastern University and an M.A. in Human Geography from Ludwig‑Maximilians‑Universität in Munich. He lives in Hood River, Oregon. Outside work, he is an endurance athlete who explores the outdoors with his wife and son.
Ray Matsumiya, Director of Rotary Engagement
Rotary Peace Grants Portfolio Manager
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Inspired by a mother from Hiroshima, Ray Matsumiya has devoted his professional career to unofficial diplomacy, cross-cultural exchange and peacebuilding.
Ray joined JFF in 2022 to enhance the scope and impact of peace oriented activities in the Rotary International ecosystem. He was the lead organizer for the groundbreaking Rotary Peace Park exhibit at the 2023 RI convention and is the past president of the Rotary Club of International Peace.
During his over two-decade career, Ray has directed organizations that implemented peacebuilding programs in twelve countries for thousands of participants in partnership with the US Dept. of State, UNESCO, the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and others. He has been an invited speaker at TEDx, the Massachusetts State House, Dayton International Peace Museum, US embassy of Tunis and universities such as M.I.T and Tufts University. He has also published pieces in USA Today and Inkstick Media.
Ray received his Master’s degree in conflict resolution from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and is a certified mediator under M.G.L. ch.233 § 23C. He lives in Cambridge, MA with his family and enjoys chess, sculpture and playing basketball.