Founder: Loren Wyss

Loren Wyss, a Portland, Oregon native, graduated from Harvard College and Harvard Business School. He worked as a stockbroker at Blythe and Co., started Lincoln Securities, then became an investment counselor for Rippey, Inskeep, Hess and McFaul. With his partners, he founded Columbia Growth Mutual Fund.

Loren served on the board of Pioneer Savings and Loan and was appointed to the Oregon Board of Higher Education by then Governor Bob Straub. He was the President of the Board of WICHE, President of the Board of Tri-Met and a trustee of the Templeton Foundation. He was a member of the board of the Oregon Investment Council and of Western Communications when he died in 2013.

He founded the Wyss Foundation in 1989 to support important aspects of our communities - such as the arts, social and community assistance, and education, among others - in those areas where the trustees are or have been active.