Jo Luck (December 5, 1941 – November 26, 2025) was an American businesswoman who was CEO of Heifer International. She was recognized with a World Food Prize in 2010.[1]
Education
Luck attended Hendrix College and earned a degree at David Lipscomb College. She also attended the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and Harvard Business School's Executive Education Program.[2]
Career
Luck was the first executive director of the nonprofit Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families in 1978. A year later, then-governor Bill Clinton selected her as the executive director of the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism.[3]
She joined Heifer International in 1989, serving as director of International Programs from 1989 to 1992 and president from 1992 to July 2011.[citation needed] From 1979 to 1989, she served as director of the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism. She served as a presidential appointee on the Board for International Food and Agricultural Development (BIFAD),[4] the Farm Foundation’s Dialogue on Food and Agriculture for the 21st Century Steering Committee,[5] and the DuPont Advisory Committee on Agriculture Innovation and Productivity,[6] and as chair of the Program Oversight Panel for CGIAR (Consultative Group on International Agriculture Research) Program on Aquatic Agricultural Systems associated with the World Fish Center.[7]
Later life and death
Luck was inducted to the Arkansas Women's Hall of Fame in 2019.[3] She died November 26, 2025, at the age of 83.[8][9]
References
- ^ Baragona, Steve. "Hunger-Fighting Charities Win World Food Prize". Washington D.C. Archived from the original on June 21, 2010. Retrieved June 17, 2010.
- ^ globalreach.com, Global Reach Internet Productions, LLC - Ames, IA -. "2010: Beckmann and Luck - The World Food Prize - Improving the Quality, Quantity and Availability of Food in the World". www.worldfoodprize.org. Archived from the original on April 10, 2016. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b "Jo Luck". Arkansas Women's Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on July 10, 2022. Retrieved December 1, 2025.
- ^ "BOARD FOR INTERNATIONAL FOOD & AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT (BIFAD) PUBLIC MEETING MEETING MINUTES" (PDF). USAID. January 30, 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 3, 2016. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
- ^ "Farm Foundation" (PDF). Retrieved May 26, 2016.
- ^ "Collaboration - DuPont Food Security". DuPont Food Security. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
- ^ globalreach.com, Global Reach Internet Productions, LLC - Ames, IA -. "2010: Beckmann and Luck - The World Food Prize - Improving the Quality, Quantity and Availability of Food in the World". www.worldfoodprize.org. Archived from the original on April 10, 2016. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Jo Luck". Ruebel Funeral Home. Retrieved December 2, 2025.
- ^ Gelder, Austin (December 1, 2025). "Jo Luck, former CEO of Heifer International, has died". Arkansas Times. Retrieved December 2, 2025.
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