Today we’d like to introduce you to Laurie George.
Hi Laurie, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
I am Laurie George, and I have the pleasure of being the President & CEO of United Way of Palm Beach County!
I started my journey in the nonprofit sector in 1997. I was finishing my Ph.D. dissertation on Child Development and Family Studies when I began working at The Parent Child Center. Shortly after, I received an opportunity at United Way of Palm Beach County as their Director of Agency Relations. Little did I know, this would be the start of more than two decades of growth and impact in this organization!
In this role, I was meeting with United Way’s funded nonprofit partners, learning the needs of our community, and monitoring programs to ensure they were creating successful outcomes. This position planted many seeds in my career journey and would help mold me into a leader that listened carefully, moved with agility, and sought to empower nonprofits that were creating bold change.
I continued working on more systemic issues at United Way like establishing the Prosperity Center in Palm Beach County using funds from a major, multi-million dollar grant from the Knight Foundation. It was the first grant of such magnitude for the United Way. I didn’t know it at that time, but it would give me the experience needed to receive and strategically distribute the organization’s largest grant that would come nearly 15 years later – a $10 million gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott that came in the fall of 2020.
I had a brief two-year interlude in Charlotte, North Carolina, where I had the opportunity to work for the YMCA in Charlotte as the Association Director of Quality, overseeing the youth program outcomes. I also worked for the Institute for Social Capital at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte where I managed an incredible database of youth outcomes and conducted pertinent research on how school attendance has a ripple effect of impact on youth and their overall success each year.
I was thrilled when I had the opportunity to come back to United Way of Palm Beach County as Executive Vice President and was quickly promoted to the Chief Operating Officer role. After being in that position for four years, the President and CEO positions became vacant. With the encouragement and support of family, friends, and dozens of local women, I applied for the role. It was a big milestone for me to even throw my name in the ring for consideration – historically, there had never been a female CEO in this United Way, so I knew there were potentially very real roadblocks ahead of me.
I continued to show up boldly, say yes to the next step, and proudly became the first female President & CEO of United Way of Palm Beach County in the organization’s 85+ year history! I have been leading the organization for the past 9 years, and I am both proud of and humbled by the impact our team and our nonprofit partners have accomplished together. There is truly strength in collaboration! We have tackled big issues and transformed systems in many areas – hunger, housing, education, and more!
We’ve accomplished more than I ever imagined, but there’s so much more on the horizon that I am excited about. We’re continuing to reimagine and think outside the box in the hunger relief space; we’re focusing on our MISSION UNITED initiative to connect veterans with critical resources (this topic is particularly close to my heart as my son is an active duty service member in the U.S. Marines), and we’re matching thousands of youth with caring adult mentors to help them achieve their career and life goals. I can’t wait to share the impact of these initiatives on local individuals and families.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Life will always throw unexpected curveballs your way! In my experience, it is about how you choose to face those storms with perseverance and positivity. One of the recent challenges I’ve faced as President & CEO was leading United Way of Palm Beach County and the nonprofit community through the COVID-19 pandemic. There were countless struggles brought about by the pandemic over the past two and a half years.
My primary concerns were ensuring my team was receiving the support they needed during that time, as well as looking at the landscape of emerging needs that became apparent in our community overnight. We had to figure out how to get more food to more people, secure PPE for the nonprofit community, address housing issues, find ways to provide mental health support, connect volunteers with critical projects, and so much more!
At times, it seemed like an overwhelming task. But I will never forget how our entire community showed up in ways big and small to help their neighbors. We saw a genuine outpouring of donations, volunteers, and food. That’s what kept me and my team going – focusing on the positive and then tackling the next hurdle.
Over the past few years, I’ve learned how important self-care is. We’ve all heard the saying, “You can’t pour from an empty cup.” As cliché as it sounds, it is critical for maintaining balance in your life and staying anchored to your values when the storms of life come your way. My self-care rituals include a morning walk, paddleboarding with my girlfriends on the weekend, doing yoga, and traveling. Each of those activities breathes life back into my soul and gives me the capacity to be an empathetic and strong leader.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
At United Way of Palm Beach County, our mission is to ensure that everyone in Palm Beach County has access to the basics: a quality education, a place to live, financial stability, good medical care, and enough to eat. We are fundraisers, hand-raisers, and game-changers so that everyone in our community can reach their full potential. For 93 years, we’ve been helping people meet their daily basic needs, recover from hurricanes, and persevere through unexpected challenges, like the pandemic.
United Way shines a light on the issues that our community faces (like hunger, education, and housing) and funds more than 110 programs and initiatives that help youth succeed, stabilize families, and empower healthy lives. We carefully and efficiently invest donor dollars in these vetted programs that are producing positive, long-term impacts. United Way also provides opportunities for people to be a part of the solution to these issues through meaningful, hands-on volunteer projects and engaging events.
One of the most powerful mantras behind our work is that we are stronger together. It takes all sectors of our community, all people, all perspectives, and all types of resources to create the kinds of programs that change lives. I am very grateful for all of our partners who continue to work with us to strengthen our community.
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
Get the right people in the room. One of the ways I have seen successful outcomes in my work with United Way is to make sure I have the right people at the table to solve the issue or meet an emerging need.
When you bring passionate, strategic, outside-the-box thinkers from diverse backgrounds and sectors together, it’s amazing how everything falls into place. I have seen this ring true whether we’re responding to a devastating hurricane, meeting a hunger relief need, or solving emerging needs in response to a global pandemic.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://unitedwaypbc.org/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurie-george-ph-d-cfre-4828bb9/
Image Credits
LILA Photo and Tracey Benson Photography
