Tiffany Ford Top 25 Women in Business

Tiffany Ford took a creative journey into her career in business. Originally from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Ford came to the University of North Dakota in pursuit of a degree in music therapy. After completing her degree in 2005 she obtained her board certification and pursued contract work with Innovis Health in Fargo, ND, specifically within the areas of infant development and stimulation. Ford later decided to make a career transition and took a position at the University of North Dakota within the Financial Aid Office. This later led to a shift over to UND’s Grants & Contracts Office where she had the opportunity to work in the areas of finance management as well as the responsibility to negotiate and manage grant agreements. While working with the North Dakota Small Business Development Center in Grants & Contracts, Ford was familiar with the program and was well suited to move into the role of Associate State Director for the North Dakota Small Business Development Center when that position became available. Within this role Ford oversees all fiscal and project management for the program and its statewide network of services. In addition, Ford was part of a team that helped the program achieve national reaccreditation and become the administrative entity for the federal Procurement Technical Assistance Centers program in the state. Ford’s commitment to service at the university includes her involvement on a number of university committees and task forces, to include UND’s 2017-2022 Strategic Planning Committee and Economic Development Resource group. Ford also is enrolled in the Master of Business Administration. Ford finds that the most rewarding aspect of her work is to see the impact that the staff make on their communities. “We have assisted over 1,000 clients per year and 90 -100 business startups,” said Ford. “I wrote a strong nomination of Tiffany for the 2018 Prairie Business magazine Top 25 Women in Business recognition because I believed that Tiffany was a strong nominee based on her bright, capable, dedicated and business-like approach to her position. I also believe that Tiffany is a strong asset at and for UND and CoBPA as a UND graduate who both works at UND and is enrolled in the MBA program here. She is UND Proud and a true Leader in Action at UND,” said David Martin, Director of North Dakota Small Business Development Center. We are proud of the notable recognition Ford has recently achieved to be recognized as by Prairie Business as one of the Top 25 Women in Business in 2018