Chuck Sams stands outside Hamley Cafe on Feb. 26, 2025. Sams was voted onto the Oregon Community Foundation Board of Directors in May 2025. (Berit Thorson/East Oregonian, File)

PORTLAND — Charles “Chuck” Sams, former U.S. National Park Service director and enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, is joining the board of directors for the Oregon Community Foundation.

Oregon Community Foundation focuses on philanthropy, offering grants and scholarships across the state. In 2024, the organization distributed more than $211 million. Sams is one of five new members on the board, the foundation announced in a press release, all of whom the rest of the OCF board approved unanimously Friday, May 9.

“OCF represents a value and ethic that resonates with me. In Indian Country, you are measured not by your wealth but by how much you give,” said Sams in a press release. “OCF is committed to taking Oregon where it needs to go by spreading the wealth to improve the health of our state in multiple ways.”

A Pendleton native, Sams led the Park Service under President Joe Biden as the first Native American director. He serves on the Northwest Power and Conservation Council and was on the board of the Gray Family Foundation, an outdoor-learning focused organization for which Oregon Community Foundation manages funds and shares resources.

Although his official work for Oregon Community Foundation began May 9, Sams has partnered with the foundation throughout the years in different ways, said Colin Fogarty, OCF’s director of communications.

Others joining the foundation’s board are Deana Freres, Chris Nemlowill, Joth Ricci and Penny Serrurier, whose areas of expertise include business, law and rural advocacy.

“This all-star group of civic and community leaders will bring a diversity of viewpoints and insight to advance our work,” Oregon Community Foundation President and CEP Lisa Mensah said in the release. “The foundation’s next stage of growth will depend upon our ability to bring Oregonians together to deliver bold solutions.”