Something well known in Southwest Michigan health and human services circles has been discovered on a national scale, and that is the leadership and value of United Way’s Rachel Wade.
Recognizing that a pipeline of high-quality leaders is essential for long-term stability and continued success of United Way in communities worldwide, they frequently lead by example. As one of the leaders at United Way of Southwest Michigan, Rachel Wade has proven her ability to lead in our communities, and now has been recognized by the United Way network.
Rachel is Vice President of Impact and Development at United Way of Southwest Michigan, and she has been selected to participate in the 2018 Advanced Leadership Program through United Way Worldwide. The program represents an accelerated year-long leadership development experience, designed for senior executives, C-Suite professionals that have demonstrated results and capacity to lead United Way.
Rachel is extremely grateful for the opportunity, saying, “I am incredibly honored to have been chosen for this cohort of the Advanced Leadership Program.” She adds, “I learned very early in my career that the best thing I could do for my own personal development was to surround myself with people who are smarter than I am. The staff and volunteers at United Way of Southwest Michigan certainly fit that description – our team is the most talented group of people I have ever worked with. The chance to expand that circle to now include United Way leaders from across North America is tremendously exciting.”
The program provides participants with a robust and intensive leadership development learning to help them strengthen leadership competencies and improve performance in their current positions, as well as prepare them for the advancement into CEO roles within the United Way network.
The program is focused on strengthening the leadership pipeline of the United Way network by developing senior level professionals to prepare for CEO and C-suite roles. Upon completion of the program, Wade will become part of the LEAD Program (Leaders Engaged in Accelerated Development) as alumni to gain access to exclusive professional network, continued development and career growth within the United Way network.
Wade will join seventeen other United Way Senior Leaders from across North America who have been selected to participate in this year’s program, which will take place in Atlanta in March, Washington D.C. in June and back in Atlanta in September.
Rachel’s boss, Anna Murphy, the President & CEO of United Way of Southwest Michigan says, “Rachel has been a tremendous leader for our community and is very deserving of this honor.” Murphy adds, “To be recognized by the United Way network for the impact she’s made in Southwest Michigan is very special. She has displayed the highest level of dedication and commitment to United Way the past 10 years.”
Wade joined United Way of Southwest Michigan in 2008, where she was the staff lead for the Berrien County Great Start Collaborative, a state-wide initiative focusing on early childhood development and school readiness. She then transitioned to the role of Director of Impact Strategies, responsible for the oversight and execution of UWSM’s community impact work. While in that position she led the organization’s transition to outcomes measurement and accountability-based funding, which included creating multi-year population level goals and identification of common outcomes and measurement strategies for Funded Partners.
In 2015, she was promoted to Vice President of Impact and Development, a new position that was created to develop strategies that ensure alignment between impact, resource development, marketing, and strategic volunteer engagement. In this role, Wade facilitated the creation of an organizational strategic plan to further align UWSM with the national network, and led the process to create resource development goals based on the needs of the community impact work, which resulted in annual campaign attainment of over $4 million for the first time in the organization’s history.
Wade holds a Master’s Degree in Administration from Central Michigan University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Relations from Western Michigan University. She serves on several local, regional, and state committees, including the Human Services Coordinating Councils, the Region 8 Prosperity Initiative, and the Michigan Association of United Ways Public Policy Committee.
