Edward Lowe Foundation

Edward Lowe occupies a special place in the galaxy of great American entrepreneurs. Trying to help a neighbor in 1947, he "brought the cat indoors" by creating Kitty Litter from clay he was using for an industrial purpose. In the process he created an entirely new category of consumer products and a billion-dollar industry that changed the lives of millions of cats and cat lovers.

As president and chief operating officer, Dan Wyant oversees strategic direction for the Edward Lowe Foundation, which promotes entrepreneurship and helps second-stage business owners accelerate growth for their companies. Wyant joined the foundation in a full-time capacity in 2005 and has served on the foundation's board of trustees since 1998. Wyant has a diverse background in both the public and private sectors. Previously, he was director of the Michigan Department of Agriculture (MDA), a position he held for nine years under the administrations of two governors. Under Wyant's leadership, the MDA pioneered many nationally recognized economic development and pollution programs, which diversified and added value to Michigan's agricultural economy. Prior to directing the MDA, Wyant provided policy expertise for the Senate Majority Office and was associate director of Governor John Engler's Office of Legislative Affairs. Wyant began his career in the private sector as a marketing manager for the Ralston Purina Co. and then served as an export trade consultant for Lowe's International. During his tenure at the MDA, Wyant was appointed to the Michigan Land Use Leadership Council, a bipartisan task force that developed innovative programs for land use and farmland preservation. Wyant continues to leverage his environmental background at the Edward Lowe Foundation, which has a secondary mission of land stewardship. In fact, Big Rock Valley, the organization's 2,600-acre campus in southwestern Michigan, not only serves as a site for leadership retreats but also functions as living laboratory for researchers and a model for best practices of land use. Within the philanthropic community, Wyant has served as a board member of the Council of Michigan Foundations (CMF) since 2004. An association of foundations, CMF is one of the strongest organizations of its kind in the country with members including the W.K. Kellogg and Kresge foundations. Wyant holds a bachelor's degree in food systems management from Michigan State University and a master's in business administration from American University in Washington, D.C.

Mark Lange is the executive director for the Edward Lowe Foundation, a nonprofit organization that seeks to accelerate entrepreneurship and its impact on community and economic development. As executive director, Lange ensures that the foundation's initiatives and day-to-day activities lead to the fulfillment of short- and long-term goals. He works closely with the president on management development and strategic direction. Since joining the Edward Lowe Foundation in 1998, Lange has led the organization to increased national recognition and a focus on second-stage entrepreneurs companies poised for growth and job creation. To assist these entrepreneurs, the foundation works through local and regional support organizations to deliver education programs, recognition events and information services. It also conducts and publishes research to underscore the contributions that second-stage businesses and entrepreneurs make to local communities and the national economy. Prior to joining the foundation, Lange served as the director of the Lundquist Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Oregon. During his three-year tenure there, he expanded the center's internship program, built the new-venture competition to a national level and increased the entrepreneurial community's involvement with the business school. While Lange was the director of the center, the Lundquist College of Business was awarded the National Model MBA Entrepreneurship Program of the Year from the United States Association of Small Business and Entrepreneurship.

Over time, Ed Lowe became known as an "entrepreneur's entrepreneur" and an advocate for the importance of entrepreneurship in America. Until his death in 1995, he believed that entrepreneurs did not get the attention and support they needed and deserved. His passion for entrepreneurship led him to study its nature and to explore practical approaches to advancing the field. Through experience, Ed Lowe concluded that entrepreneurs learn best from other entrepreneurs, and "peer learning" is the principle driving much of the foundation's work with entrepreneurs.

After creating a billion-dollar industry that established the cat as the nation's most popular pet, Edward Lowe set his creative sights on another goal fostering and nurturing the American entrepreneur. As a result, Ed committed a good part of his fortune to create "... a whole campus for entrepreneurs" at a private 2,500-acre complex outside his boyhood hometown of Cassopolis, Michigan. In 1991 he donated this estate for the headquarters of the Edward Lowe Foundation.