Jo Luck
American businesswoman (1941–2025)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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]
