The Ford Foundation today announced the appointment of Ricardo Castro as vice president and general counsel. He will also serve as an officer of the foundation. Castro joins the foundation following an extensive national search, and succeeds Nancy Feller, who retired from the foundation in 2012 after 33 years of service. Castro currently serves as general counsel for the Open Society Foundations, where he has held a series of senior leadership positions over a 16-year span, including nine years as general counsel.

“Ricardo is an enormously respected leader in his field and will bring a wealth of experience to our work in the United States and around the world,” said Luis A. Ubiñas, president of the Ford Foundation. “He is a world-class individual and we are honored to have him join our leadership team in a role that is central to all aspects of the foundation’s grantmaking, global operations and investments.”

At the Open Society Foundations, Castro oversees all legal matters and advises program leadership and senior management on a wide variety of domestic and international issues. He began his tenure at the Open Society Foundations in 1997 as associate general counsel. He became deputy general counsel in 1998 and general counsel in 2004.

“I am deeply honored by the opportunity to serve as a leader with the Ford Foundation,” said Castro. “This is an institution whose commitment to human dignity and achievement are deeply embedded in my life’s work. I look forward to supporting the foundation’s outstanding staff as they support visionary people on the frontlines of social change around the world.”

Prior to joining the Open Society Foundations, Castro was an associate at the law firm of Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton, where he worked on corporate finance matters in Latin America. For several years, he worked as a legal services lawyer on behalf of people living with HIV and AIDS. Castro completed his JD at New York University, where he was editor-in-chief of the Review of Law of Social Change and president of the Latino Law Students Association.