Bezos Family Foundation

Mike Bezos co-founded the Bezos Family Foundation in 2000 with his wife, Jackie, and their family, who serve as directors. A native of Cuba, Mike immigrated to the United States as a teenager and spent over 32 years in engineering and managerial positions at ExxonMobil.⁠[1]

The foundation said that as parents and grandparents, Mike and Jackie saw firsthand the potential of young people, and it is dedicated to helping them reach their full potential.⁠[2]

The foundation’s first program, the Bezos Scholars Program, launched in 2005 with its inaugural cohort at the Aspen Ideas Festival, prompted by Mike and Jackie’s question “How will young people be included?” It later grew from bringing youth voices to the festival into a yearlong leadership development program.⁠[3]

The no-cost program is open to juniors at eligible U.S. public high schools, which must meet criteria such as at least 30% of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch; Scholars carry out community change projects, each partnered for the year with an educator nominated from their school.⁠[4]

Students Rebuild, a collaborative program of the foundation, was created in January 2010 in response to the Haiti earthquake. It mobilized thousands of young people in 83 countries and all 50 U.S. states to act on global issues and raised more than $3 million in matching funds to rebuild schools in Haiti; later challenges addressed Nepal, Typhoon Haiyan, and Japan, among others.⁠[5]

Since 2014 Vroom has offered parents and caregivers science-based tips, supporting nearly 2,000,000 families in all 50 U.S. states and over 80 countries with more than 1,000 Vroom Tips in English and Spanish; partners include the International Rescue Committee and Amplio Talking Books.⁠[6]

Vroom is a global program of the foundation, delivered through iOS and Android apps, a web app, social media, and printable sheets.⁠[7]

Each year the Bezos Scholars Program brought together 17 young people from the U.S. and Africa; selected juniors and an educator from their school first spent a week at the Aspen Ideas Festival. In 2020 the program was canceled for the first time because of the COVID-19 pandemic. By early 2021, almost 400 Scholars and educators had launched 164 Local Ideas Festivals.⁠[8]

The foundation funds The Hunt Institute’s work educating state leaders about early childhood development and sharing effective state strategies, policies, and practices for early learning.⁠[9]

The foundation partnered with AP-OD to support its training institutes, curriculum updates, and Covid response.⁠[10]

The foundation announced John Deasy as its president, stating that he began in July 2023; Deasy had been superintendent of districts including Stockton Unified School District and Los Angeles Unified School District. Co-founders Jackie and Mike Bezos, who had served more than 20 years as president and vice-president, became co-chairs of the board.⁠[11]

Jackie Gise Bezos, co-founder of the foundation, died on August 14, 2025.⁠[12]

Jeff Bezos announced his mother’s death after a long fight with Lewy body dementia, noting she became a mother at 17; she was survived by her husband, Mike Bezos, her children Jeff, Christina, and Mark, 11 grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.⁠[13]

Jackie grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico, was diagnosed in 2020, and died at her Miami home at 78; she played a major role in programs such as Vroom.⁠[14]

Jackie Bezos (1946–2025) also helped create the Bezos Scholars Program to bring high school students into the conversation.⁠[15]

The inaugural Jackie Bezos Researchers in Residence were Meghan Orman, after postdoctoral work at Cornell UniversityCornell UniversityCornell University is a private research university in Ithaca, New York, and a member of the Ivy League. It is New York State's federal land-grant university, a distinction unique within the Ivy League. Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White founded the university in 1865, and it opened in 1868. In addition to its Ithaca campus, Cornell operates Weill Cornell Medicine and Cornell Tech in New York City and a medical college in Qatar. It enrolled 26,793 students in fall 2024. Its president is Michael I. Kotlikoff.Open the full entry, and Andrew Nalani, an assistant professor at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College on scholarly leave, tasked with advancing the foundation’s research agenda and advising on its research investment strategy.⁠[16]

The foundation profiled Geaux Far Louisiana, an early childhood coalition launched in 2021 whose 36-member steering committee is more than half parents and providers; in 2025 the legislature recognized April 15 as Geaux Far Day.⁠[17]

The foundation supports TED-Ed’s Student Talks, Educator Talks, Animated Lessons, and lesson dubbing into multiple languages; TED-Ed’s online lesson library has been viewed nearly six billion times.⁠[18]

The foundation funds Reading Partners’ direct tutoring, collective impact hubs, and digital tools for families.⁠[19]

The foundation announced that William (Bill) Hite would become president, stepping into the role in mid-July; he came from KnowledgeWorks, where he was president and CEO, and earlier spent a decade as superintendent of the School District of Philadelphia.⁠[20]

Phones in Focus, supported by the foundation, is a large-scale study of how different phone policies affect students, teachers, and schools, led by University of PennsylvaniaUniversity of PennsylvaniaThe University of Pennsylvania, commonly called Penn, is a private research university and Ivy League member in Philadelphia. It traces its origins to a 1740 charity-school project; Benjamin Franklin proposed his academy in 1749, classes began in 1751, and a 1791 merger established the institution under its present name. Penn has 12 schools, with undergraduate education concentrated in arts and sciences, engineering, nursing and Wharton. Enrollment totaled 29,384 in fall 2025, and the fiscal 2025 endowment was $24.81 billion. As of October 2026, J. Larry Jameson was president, with his term scheduled to end on June 30, 2027.Open the full entry psychology professor Angela Duckworth with researchers including Stanford UniversityStanford UniversityStanford University is a research university in California founded by Leland and Jane Stanford in 1885 and opened in 1891.Open the full entry economics professor Matthew Gentzkow, drawing on educators at about 46 percent of schools nationwide.⁠[21]

Early findings associated “away-for-the-day” policies with higher teacher satisfaction; the researchers said causal conclusions about student outcomes require continued data collection and analysis.⁠[21]

Darris Means, a tenured professor of educational leadership at Clemson University, became the 2026 Jackie Bezos Researcher in Residence.⁠[22]

Its grantmaking focuses on four areas: advancing research, educators and early care professionals, family success, and youth changemakers, with work primarily in the United States.⁠[23]

Its in-house programs are Vroom and the Bezos Scholars Program; the foundation also partnered with the Aspen Institute to launch the Aspen Challenge, part of the Center for Rising Generations.⁠[24]

Mike Bezos is co-founder and chair of the board, and Bill Hite is president.⁠[1]

Bezos Family Foundation: Official website: https://bezosfamilyfoundation.org/ (opens in a new window)⁠[25]

LinkedInLinkedInLinkedIn is a social networking platform for professionals. It was founded in 2002 by Reid Hoffman and others, launched in 2003, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2011; after Microsoft acquired it for approximately $26.2 billion in 2016, it became a wholly owned Microsoft subsidiary. Its revenue comes from membership subscriptions, advertising, and recruitment solutions.Open the full entry: Official account: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bezosfamilyfoundation (opens in a new window)⁠[25]

Vroom: Official website: https://www.vroom.org/ (opens in a new window)⁠[7]

Bezos Scholars Program: Official website: https://bezosscholars.org/ (opens in a new window)⁠[4]

Students Rebuild: Official website: https://www.studentsrebuild.org/ (opens in a new window)⁠[5]