Our Founders

Tom Ward and Trent Ward’s original inspiration for White Fields came from an old group home in Guthrie, Okla. Wondering how the child placement system had improved over the years, the Wards began researching the Oklahoma Department of Human Services and how the placement options for abused and neglected children had changed.

The Wards created White Fields after studying the current Department of Human Services child placement needs in Oklahoma. In their four-year research process, they discovered that some children are unable to manage in foster care or adoptive homes and consequently make many moves within the DHS system.

The Wards specifically researched the only boy’s home in the state that accepts 6- to 12-year-old severely abused and neglected boys. These boys require intensive counseling to overcome their emotional, behavioral and/or adjustment problems. The Wards noticed that once these boys arrived in a group home setting and realized they would not be moved to another home for misbehavior, they began to show dramatic improvement. However, the boys eventually became too old for the home and had to move yet again. The fears associated with starting all over in unfamiliar surroundings were often too great, and the progress made while in treatment was quickly abandoned. The Wards concluded that Oklahoma needed a continuum of care home for severely abused and neglected children.

Tom Ward

Chairman and chief executive officer of Sandridge Energy Inc., Tom Ward has always looked ahead when it comes to setting new standards. Looking to his next endeavor in collaboration with his son, Tom is undertaking a subject he and his family care much about – the healing and development of troubled children. In April 2006, Tom was named a Friend of Children Honoree by the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy.

"I see White Fields as a place of permanence,” said Tom Ward. “It’s a place these children can call home, where they are loved unconditionally and where they can finally begin to heal. We have been very blessed in our own lives and believe it is our calling to help these children.”

Trent Ward

Trent Ward is CEO of WCT Resources and President of the Tom L. Ward Family Foundation. Ward serves on the board of directors for White Fields boys home, The First Tee of Metropolitan Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Lawyers for Children, Oklahoma City Boathouse Foundation and OKC Quality Schools. He is a graduate of Anderson University in Anderson, Ind.

Ward and his father Tom founded White Fields in 2000 to care for abused and neglected boys who are in the permanent custody of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services Child Welfare Division. White Fields’ mission is to empower these children to become productive citizens. The campus is on 140 acres and provides residential, recreational and educational facilities.

Trent is also responsible for the launch of the “Million” in the Oklahoma City Public Schools. The Million is a cell phone based incentive plan for fifth through eighth graders. OKCPS was the only school district in the country to participate in the pilot program.

Trent and his wife Kim enjoy spending time with family, traveling, and attending the events of their three children. The rest of Trent’s time is occupied by reading and watching sports.

“Our primary goal is to provide these boys the home and family they always deserved but never got to experience,” said Trent Ward. “We will help them grow and eventually become independent, productive members of our community.”