Gail Ford has been named the director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s PEOPLE program, the university has announced.

“We are thrilled to elevate new leadership, vision, and strategy to ensure the success and sustainability of the program moving forward,” Cheryl B Gittens, Assistant Vice Provost in the Division of Diversity, Equity & Educational Achievement, which houses PEOPLE, told UW News. “Gail brings strategic leadership, innovation, and the communication savvy that will strengthen the management, development, and growth of our pre-college enrichment and college student success brand.”

Precollege Enrichment Opportunity Program for Learning Excellence (PEOPLE) is a long-term diversity pipeline to higher education that serves more than 1,200 students annually on campus and in the Madison Metropolitan and Milwaukee Public school districts. Ford has been a longtime PEOPLE staffer. She was appointed Interim Assistant Director of PEOPLE Pre-College in 2015 and hired permanently in that position in 2016.

A member of the Delta Theta Sigma sorority, Ford earned a bachelor’s degree from Ferris State University and a master’s degree in education with a human services concentration from UW-Platteville. She started her new role as director of PEOPLE on Oct. 15.