# Northwest Health Foundation

Northwest Health Foundation is an Endowment / Foundation based in Portland, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Endowment / Foundation
- **Headquarters:** Portland, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** Portland, OR, United States
- **Founded:** 1997
- **Assets under management:** $69 million (Altss estimate)
- **Website:** www.northwesthealth.org
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/northwest-health-foundation

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

The Northwest Health Foundation was founded in 1997 as an independent private foundation focused on health protection, care quality, and access. President and CEO Jesse Beason leads the foundation, which operates primarily across Oregon and Southwest Washington. Beason also sits on the boards of Oregon Public Broadcasting and Oregon Futures Lab, reflecting the foundation's deep civic ties beyond its investment activity. The foundation's investment strategy spans a wide range of asset classes and strategies. Confirmed allocations include hedge funds, private equity, and real estate. While specific fund commitments and portfolio company names are not publicly disclosed, the foundation maintains alternative investment interests alongside its grantmaking capital. Governance rests with a board where Vice Chair Andrea Cooper, co-founder of A.L.A Strategies, holds a leadership role. The foundation is an active member of Philanthropy Northwest and Grantmakers in Health, and it maintains longstanding partnerships with entities like the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation on initiatives such as Partners Investing in Nursing's Future. Its real-asset footprint includes the Thomas Aschenbrener Center for Philanthropy at 221 NW Second Avenue in Portland. What distinguishes the foundation's architecture is its simultaneous operation as a full-spectrum institutional investor and a place-based health funder. While most health legacy foundations separate investment management and program staff, Northwest Health Foundation's leadership and board-level engagement in both civic life and diversified alternative investments binds the two functions under a single, regionally focused mandate.

## Sectors

- Hedge Funds
- Private Equity
- Real Estate
- Philanthropic / Mission-Related Investing

## People

- Jesse Beason — President & CEO
- Andrea Cooper — Vice Chair of the Board

## Questions

### Does the foundation participate in fund commitments or only direct deals?

The confirmed investment types and strategy list — including fund of funds, secondaries, and allocations to private equity and hedge funds — indicate the foundation primarily commits to external funds rather than pursuing a direct-deal investment model. No direct portfolio company holdings have been publicly identified.

### How is the foundation related to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation?

The two foundations are independent but maintain a long-term programmatic partnership. They collaborated on the Partners Investing in Nursing's Future initiative, which aligns with Northwest Health Foundation's focus on health-care quality and access. There is no shared investment vehicle or pooled capital arrangement.

## Related profiles

- [New York Academy of Medicine](https://altss.com/profile/new-york-academy-of-medicine)
- [The College of New Jersey Foundation](https://altss.com/profile/the-college-of-new-jersey-foundation)

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Last updated: 2026-08-11T02:43:31.692Z

Canonical page: https://altss.com/profile/northwest-health-foundation

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