Vice President, External Affairs: United Way of Philadelphia and Southern

The region’s first United Way was formed in 1921 as a “community chest.” Today United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey is a modern, results-driven organization harnessing the power of collective generosity to create opportunity and stability for all neighbors. Building on more than a century of impact, we have transformed how we fundraise, partner, and deliver solutions by aligning resources and mobilizing cross-sector collaboration to tackle complex challenges no single organization can solve alone.

With a focus on transparency, innovation, and measurable results, United Way is accelerating momentum to drive lasting change across our region.

UWGPSNJ creates at-scale, long-term solutions to strategically address our community’s most pressing needs across a nine-county region. Through investments of more than $20 million annually and a growing portfolio of strategic initiatives the organization is redefining what a modern United Way can be: a catalytic force for lasting change, strategic partnerships, and unique impact.

UWGPSNJ meets our region’s most pressing needs in Pennsylvania’s Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties, and New Jersey’s Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, and Cumberland counties. Throughout this nine-county footprint, close to 650,000 residents live below the poverty line (U.S. Census, 2020). Moreover, studies show this crisis disproportionately impacts communities of color, who comprise most of the population we serve. To address this disparity, our organization invests more than $20 million each year into the community through various partner initiatives under the pillars of Early Learning, Career Pathways, Financial Empowerment, and Community Resiliency.

These initiatives help more children read at grade-level, more people grow their financial assets, and more families increase their economic stability. Furthermore, UWGPSNJ powers special initiatives, including:

The Promise:
The Promise is a first of its kind public private ownership with the City of Philadelphia, advancing opportunities for low-income Philadelphians through a two-fold approach:
Family Stability and Record Clearing. In the first three years of The Promise’s Family Stability Program, United Way, through our network of more than 20 partners in Philadelphia, helped over 38,000 clients each year unlock more than $145 million in tax credits and benefits for which they were eligible. In addition, The Promise’s Record Clearing initiative resulted in a total of 3,122 people meeting with lawyers for free at our 56 record clearing clinics and community fairs.

Additionally, 2,039 people were eligible to move forward with sealing, expungement, and/or pardon, which represents 65% of those served.

Camden Community Uplift (CCU):
Camden Community Uplift is United Way’s place-based investment strategy in Camden, designed to accelerate economic mobility by aligning capital, community partners, and systems-level solutions. Through a $5M+ commitment, CCU is deploying coordinated funding and support to high-impact nonprofit collaboratives focused on benefits access, workforce development, and education. The model emphasizes cross-sector partnership, data-driven outcomes, and long-term sustainability, with the goal of increasing economic mobility and workforce retention for Camden residents

Philadelphia Partnership for Nutrition and Health (PPNH):

The Philadelphia Partnership for Nutrition and Health is a cross-sector accelerator advancing equitable access to nutritious food and quality healthcare across the region. Founded to address the systemic drivers of food insecurity and poor health outcomes. By strengthening coordination and unlocking new investment, PPNH is building an integrated ecosystem that improves health outcomes while reducing cost burdens across the system.

Housing (Anchored Communities Fund):

United Way’s Anchored Communities Fund is a mission-driven investment strategy to preserve and expand affordable housing across the Philadelphia region. Designed as a scalable, $100M impact fund, the initiative brings together catalytic philanthropic capital and impact investment to…