EVERETT — United Way of Snohomish County announced Friday that Allison Warren-Barbour will take over as the agency’s president and CEO on Jan. 1. She will succeed Dennis Smith, the local United Way’s current leader, who is retiring.
Warren-Barbour, 38, comes from United Way of Greater Triangle in North Carolina’s Raleigh-Durham area. Her title there was senior vice president of resource development and engagement. She has a bachelor’s degree in business change management and organizational behavior from Miami University in Ohio, and a master of divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary.
“The United Way system is in a time of transformation as we work to deepen the relevance of the organization, both for the people we serve and for our stakeholders,” Warren-Barbour said in a statement released Friday with the agency’s announcement. “I am honored to serve alongside passionate staff, board and community members who understand the complexity of poverty, and the bold, collaborative work required to break the cycle.”
In North Carolina, she directed individual and corporate engagement, major gifts and grants, and social innovation. She recently launched a two-year, $1.5 million “Innovate United” fund aimed at creating a system of social entrepreneurs. At the United Way there, she fostered a model that approaches solving complex social issues through collaborative partnerships.
Smith, the local United Way’s president and CEO since 2011, was previously executive vice president of the agency. He joined United Way here in 2000. During his tenure, Smith has served as chairman of the board of Washington Information Network 211. The 211 system, which connects callers with social service resources, came to Snohomish County in 2004.
Smith was at United Way’s helm in the weeks after the March 22, 2014, Oso mudslide. The agency raised at least $2.4 million for its fund for mudslide relief. He also served as the first chairman of United Ways of the Pacific Northwest. United Way organizations in Washington and Oregon, 39 in all, joined together as a regional group over a year ago.
Like Warren-Barbour, Smith has theological credentials. He earned a degree from Claremont School of Theology. Before joining the local United Way, Smith was the county’s coordinator and pastoral counselor with Lutheran Social Services.
When Warren-Barbour comes to United Way of Snohomish County in January, she’ll join an agency that recently took on a new goal: breaking the cycle of poverty for individuals and families. Money raised during its annual fund drive is being allocated to programs supporting that goal.
Among this year’s grant recipients were food bank programs at Volunteers of America; low-incoming housing and early education programs at Housing Hope; and homeless, low-income and multicultural programs provided by Lutheran Community Services.
Gary Cohn, chairman of the local United Way’s board of directors and Everett School District superintendent, thanked board members, staff, partner agencies and others from the community who were involved in the national search for a new leader.
“Allison clearly demonstrated that she understands the challenges facing United Ways across the country, and our United Way in Snohomish County,” Cohn said in a statement. “She impressed board members, staff and community partners with her knowledge of our collective impact strategy, breaking the cycle of poverty, and her creative approaches to transforming United Way’s role in resource development in a digital age.”
Before her work in North Carolina, Warren-Barbour was with the United Way of Greater Atlanta. She began her career with nonprofits in Atlanta with a financial literacy organization, Operation HOPE, and before that worked in sales management.
She and her husband, Kevin, have two daughters, ages 5 and 3.
Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460; jmuhlstein@heraldnet.com.
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