UNITED WAY OF THE GREATER LEHIGH VALLEY - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Director, Community Resilience
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- Marketing and Design Specialist
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- Associate Vice President, Philanthropy and Donor Engagement
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- Senior Relationship Manager
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- Asst. Director Community School Training and Support
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- Manager, Digital Giving Portals
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- Women Reentry Program Coordinator VISTA
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- Marketing and Communications VISTA
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- Coordinator, Gift Processing
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- Manager, Digital Communications
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- Member of the Leadership Team
- President
With more than 35 years dedicated the world's largest nonprofit, David Lewis is humbled to serve as President of United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley since 2013. Under his leadership, the UWGLV team has raised and invested record-setting amounts to make a difference in the lives of hundreds of thousands of residents throughout Lehigh, Northampton and Carbon counties.
In 2024, UWGLV will be the most significant community investment in the organization's 105-year history, a record breaking $27 million. With a passion for helping people in need and a gift for partnership building, Lewis has raised more than $350 million throughout his career.
During his tenure as President, David has tripled revenue for the local United Way, solidifying UWGLV as a top-performer among the United Way network of 1,100 local organizations nationwide. Using innovative and collaborative leadership and laser-focus on results, Lewis has led the Greater Lehigh Valley to adopt a Collective Impact model, expand services into Carbon County and mobilize around three, bold and shared goals.
Lewis spent the early part of his career as a social worker with middle and high-school students and later transitioned to fundraising to reach more people in need. He began working with United Way in 1988 as campaign director in Southeastern Pennsylvania (Philadelphia), served as Vice President of Resource Development in Camden County, New Jersey and was Vice President and Chief Operating Officer in Lancaster County. He joined UWGLV in 2012 as Vice President, Resource Development.
Lewis holds a B.S. in social work from Elizabethtown College and M.S.W. in social work administration from Rutgers University. He's been recognized by Lehigh Valley Business as a Game Changer-Most Admired CEO of a Nonprofit and honored with The Salvation Army's Spirit of the Lehigh Valley award.
Lewis has three adult children: Joshua, Jacob and Riley and three grandchildren: Jack, Ada and Cassian. He resides in Hellertown and loves living and working in a community where so many people care about helping their neighbors.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Board
- Member of the Leadership Team
Dorota Gasienica-Kozak loves being a member of the United Way Board of Directors because, "we help change lives everyday." She is also solicitor for the organization. Mrs. Kozak is a partner in the KingSpry law firm and chair of the Adoption/Assisted Reproductive Technology practice section. She also practices in the areas of Family Law and Estate Planning.
Mrs. Kozak is the Past Chair of the Board of Governors for the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce. She was a Girl Scouts Take the Lead honoree in 2018, a "YWCA Woman of the Year" for 2014, and in 2016, she was named a Woman of Influence by Lehigh Valley Business. A graduate of the Leadership Lehigh Valley program, Mrs. Kozak is a former member of the board and was the 2012 Leadership Lehigh Valley Alumni of the Year. She has been named a Rising Star honoree by Super Lawyer Magazine and Philadelphia Magazine.
Mrs. Kozak earned dual degrees from DeSales University in Politics and Criminal Justice. Mrs. Kozak graduated from Temple University's James E. Beasley School of Law. She is an ardent volunteer with many community organizations including the Girl Scouts, IronPigs Charities and the Bradbury Sullivan LGBT Community Center.
Job Titles:
- Philanthropic Investment Officer
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- Dementia Outreach Coordinator
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- Member of the Leadership Team
- Vice President of Impact
Erin Connelly serves as the Vice President of Impact where she leads grantmaking strategy and innovation, partner engagement, policy and advocacy efforts, programmatic initiatives in housing and financial stability and department operations. She joined United Way in 2019 as Senior Director of Impact.
She currently serves on the Lehigh Valley Regional Homeless Advisory Board's Governance Board and on the board of the Volunteer Center of the Lehigh Valley.
Prior to joining United Way, Erin served as Director of Communications and Outreach for The Biomimicry Institute in Portland. She has also led quality improvement projects for federally qualified health centers within the Multnomah County Health Department and has coordinated National Institutes of Health-funded clinical and education grants.
Erin holds a M.A. in sociology and policy studies from Lehigh University with a B.A. in journalism from Penn State University. She lives in Bethlehem with her husband and son.
Job Titles:
- Director, Family Stability
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- Associate Vice President, Data and Evaluation
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- Asst. Director, AmeriCorps Programs
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- Member of the Leadership Team
- Vice President, Education
- Vice President, Strategic Partnerships
Jill Pereira's professional background includes working in communities across the Lehigh Valley serving in the fields of mental health, juvenile justice, children and youth, public housing and public education. Jill's drive to disrupt and change systems to more equitably serve all people brought her to United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley. Since 2009, Jill has held many positions, becoming the Director of Community Schools in 2011 the first Vice President of Education in early 2018 and entering her role of Vice President, Education & Impact later that same year. Jill is currently responsible for overseeing how UWGLV invests its resources into community to drive large scale social change in Education, Healthy Aging and Community Stability, a more than $20M annual endeavor.
Jill is passionate about working with underserved communities, advancing social justice, building capacity and creating opportunities for change and growth. In addition to her own personal story of resilience, Jill completed a life enhancing study abroad program in Quito, Ecuador while earning her BSW degree. She continued intentional work with the Hispanic community in the Lehigh Valley upon returning to complete her Master's degree in Social Work from Marywood University in 2004.
Jill has presented at numerous local, state and national conferences on the Community School model and the role a United Way can play in large-scale social change efforts, including how to advance a regional 3rd grade literacy campaign such as Lehigh Valley Reads. She was named one of the Lehigh Valley Business Forty Under Forty recipients in 2015 for her work at United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley and in 2018 was honored with the National Coalition for Community Schools "Community School Initiative Leader" award for her work in growing a regional footprint with UWGLV's Community School model. Jill lives in Palmerton, Pennsylvania with her three beautiful children.
Joe Savage - CFO, Chairman, EVP
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Board
- Chief Financial Officer
- Executive Vice President
- Member of the Leadership Team
- Vice Chair of the Board
Joe Savage serves as Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President at Victaulic Company Inc. Savage joined Victaulic in August 2006, and was previously Vice President, Finance.
Prior to joining Victaulic, Savage spent 13 years at United Technologies' Carrier Corporation based in Syracuse, New York, and held numerous financial executive positions there including Vice President of Finance for its North American Commercial business unit. Savage is a Certified Public Accountant, licensed in the State of New York.
Savage's community activities include Chair of the Saucon Valley Foundation for Education Innovation and President of the Saucon Valley Lacrosse Club. He is currently serving on the Board of Trustees of his alma mater, Le Moyne College, Syracuse, NY, and held a board seat with United Way of Central New York. He was also a trustee of the Toys for Tots Foundation in Central New York. Savage lives in Saucon Valley, Pennsylvania with his wife, Suzanne, and their four children.
Job Titles:
- Associate Vice President, Strategic Technology
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- Director, Community School Network
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- Member of the Leadership Team
- Vice President, Marketing and Communications
Laura McHugh serves as the Vice President, Marketing and Communications for United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley (UWGLV)-the first in the organization's history. In this role, McHugh leads strategic communications as well as oversees all messaging, content, digital communications, advertising and events.
McHugh most recently served as Associate Vice President of Marketing and Communications for UWGLV. She is a two-time Emmy award-winning journalist, producer and writer with an extensive background in media and nonprofit work.
Along with her two Mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards, McHugh's work has earned her fifteen Emmy nominations, two National Educational Telecommunications Association awards and two Truth in Finances Awards from the Pennsylvania Institute for Certified Public Accountants. In October, she received the ATHENA Leadership Award from the Women's Business Council of the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce. McHugh serves as President of the Board of Governors for the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Mid-Atlantic Chapter and as a volunteer committee member for ArtsQuest.
McHugh holds a BA in Journalism from the University of Maryland, Philip Merrill College of Journalism and has more than 15 years of reporting, producing and hosting experience in both commercial and public television news. She lives in Allentown with her husband and two children.
Job Titles:
- Associate Vice President, Strategic Initiatives
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- Director, Engagement and Events
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- Director, Community Relations
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- Chief Operating Officer
- Corporate Secretary
- Member of the Leadership Team
Lesko serves as Chief Operating Officer at United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley and is grateful for the opportunity to improve lives and strengthen communities every day.
Marci joined United Way in 2006 and has become integral to the executive leadership team, having previously served as the organization's Vice President of Community Impact, Executive Vice President, Chief Impact Officer and Corporate Secretary. She was appointed COO by the Board of Directors in 2023 and will assume the role of Chief Executive Officer starting in June 2024.
With a graduate degree in organization leadership and an outstanding track record of turning donor investments into lasting results, Marci has transformed key areas of the organization including impact, grants, data, communications, human resources and technology. She has been a national leader in Collective Impact, which she brought to the region in the early 2010s; she started the highly successful and nationally recognized Community Schools model in the Lehigh Valley, and she developed the results-based investment strategy United Way continues to follow today.
In addition to being a proud member of United Way Tocqueville Society and long-time member of United Way Women United, Lesko serves on several boards and is affiliated with many community improvement efforts such as the Lehigh County Suicide Prevention Coalition, as Board Chair for Pennsylvania's Family Support Alliance, as Chair of LINC, as Board Chair of Enduring Keys, Inc., and as a committee chair of the Concourse Club of Palmerton.
Lesko has won several distinguished awards for her work, including the Human Relations Commission (2005), The Donley Award for Children's Advocacy (2016), Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania Take the Lead Award (2017), Community Achievement Award/Woman of Influence Award from Lehigh Valley Business (2018), the PBS39 Fred Rogers Good Neighbor Award (2018) and led United Way to receive the Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center Community Leadership Award (2021).
Lesko holds a Bachelor of Science in community health education from Illinois State University (1999) and a Master of Professional Services in organization development and change management from Pennsylvania State University (2022).
Lesko currently serves as Chief Operating Officer and will succeed President David Lewis, who is stepping back after 36 years with United Way.
Job Titles:
- Associate Vice President, Diversity Equity and Inclusion
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- Associate Vice President, Human Resources
Job Titles:
- Manager, Grant Administration
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- Assistant Director, Donor Engagement
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- Resiliency Project Coordinator
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- Violence Prevention & Handle With Care Program Director
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- Director, Grant Development
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- Member of the Leadership Team
- Chief Philanthropy Officer
Paul Hurd is Chief Philanthropy Officer at United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley (UWGLV) and is responsible for overseeing the fundraising component of the organization. His responsibilities include working with the executive team to develop key strategies to increase corporate, employee and individual giving; ensuring effective volunteer management in support of resource development goals; and building and supporting relationship management within the organization.
Most recently, Hurd has held leadership positions at Thomas Jefferson University and Lehigh Valley Health Network. He has successfully led capital campaigns and has raised millions of dollars for each organization including several million dollar-plus gifts.
He is a member of the United Way Worldwide Major and Planned Giving Advisory Group as well as a former member of the Muhlenberg College Alumni Board and Andre Reed Foundation board of directors. Hurd holds an A.B. in Communications from Muhlenberg College and an M.S. in Telecommunications from Kutztown University. He and Susan, his wife of 32 years, have two adult children, Matt and Abby.
Job Titles:
- Director, Partner Engagement
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- Director, Philanthropy and Donor Engagement
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- Director, Workplace Engagement
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- Grants and Research Intern
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- Director, Executive Office
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- Member of the Leadership Team
Adrienne DaRe of BSI Corporate Benefits will serve as United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley's (UWGLV) 2023 Campaign Chairs. In this role, the DaRe's will volunteer to lead United Way's largest annual fundraising effort, which raised a record-breaking $22,642,018 in 2022.
As United Way Tocqueville Society members since 2018, the DaRe's are deeply committed to giving back through their leadership and service. Through their leadership, BSI Corporate Benefits has become one of 19 members of the United Way Cornerstone Society, increased their contributions through their workplace campaign each year, and achieved 100% participation among employees the last three years.
Along with serving on United Way's Campaign Cabinet since 2019, Tony actively leads local councils, boards, government and health committees serving as an expert employee benefits consultant and volunteer. In 2020, he was named Lehigh Valley "Community Service Person of the Year" and has been recognized as a "Power 100" three times for being an individual who helps shape the Lehigh Valley and influence the quality of life throughout the region. Most recently, Tony was named an Entrepreneur of The Year® 2023 Greater Philadelphia Award finalist for being a transformative entrepreneur and leader of a high-growth firm focused on building long-term value through purpose, growth and impact, among other core contributions and attributes.
Job Titles:
- Community School Coordinator, Ramos Elementary
Job Titles:
- Senior Director, Marketing and Design