The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation has appointed six local community leaders to its Aberdeen Community Advisory Committee.

“These leaders will provide counsel to Knight Foundation as we seek to make grants in Aberdeen with the potential to transform the community,” said Anne Corriston, the foundation’s program director for Aberdeen.

Aberdeen is one of 26 U.S. cities and towns served by Knight Foundation, a $2.3 billion national foundation with local roots where the Knight brothers owned newspapers in their lifetimes.

Community Advisory Committee members are an integral part of Knight Foundation’s grant-making work. Each committee is a small group of creative, connected and strategic advisers who work with Corriston and other program directors to discover opportunities that produce maximum impact and lasting change in the communities they serve.

Aberdeen’s appointed advisers are: Jerome Ferson, president and publisher of The Aberdeen American News; Rod Fouberg, chairman and CEO of the Dacotah Banks; Dr. Bernard C. Gerber M.D., retired surgeon; Gail Ogdahl, president of the Aberdeen Area Chamber of Commerce; Connie Smith, coordinator family services program of the Lincoln Elementary School; and Mike Wiese of Dex Media

“We thank these individuals for their leadership and willingness to share their knowledge and ideas as Knight Foundation explores how we can best invest in Aberdeen,” said Corriston. “We look forward to our future work together.”

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation promotes journalism excellence worldwide and invests in the vitality of Aberdeen and 25 other communities where the Knight brothers owned newspapers. Knight Foundation supports ideas and projects that create transformational change. For more, visit www.knightfdn.org.