New president and CEO announced
United Way of Northwest Indiana
names Adam O’Doherty as inaugural President and CEO
February 17, 2021 — United Way of Northwest Indiana is pleased to announce Adam O’Doherty will be the organization’s inaugural President and CEO.
O’Doherty was selected following a robust and rigorous national search, spearheaded by a seven-member committee, comprised of members of the United Way Board of Directors and local community leaders. The committee was led by Jeff Strack, CEO of Strack & Van Til.
“Since last fall, we have been looking for the best candidate to lead our organization into our next phase of service,” said Strack, United Way of Northwest Indiana Board Chair and CEO Search Committee Chair. “We couldn’t be more thrilled that Adam has taken on the challenge. He’s a Midwesterner at heart and will bring an innovative mindset to our Region as we help families and individuals thrive.”
For the last three years, O’Doherty has served as the CEO of United Way of Graham and Greenlee Counites in Safford, Arizona. As a social entrepreneur and certified results-based facilitator, he brings over 15 years of leadership experience with a proven record of creating innovative social impact solutions.
“I am excited to join such a warm and welcoming community and to work in partnership toward achievement of our common goal of building successful communities,” said O’Doherty, the new President and CEO for United Way of Northwest Indiana.
Adam is a passionate advocate for children and their families and has a strong sense of community. He firmly believes that “No single entity or group can solve the challenges that face our students, our families, or our communities. It takes commitment from all sectors – education, business, higher education, civic and philanthropy. We all need to work together with shared accountability and high expectations for every person in our communities,” said O’Doherty.
There were significant expressions of interest in the role, regionally and nationally among senior executive leaders across multiple sectors. Koya Partners, the executive search firm with an exclusive focus on recruiting senior leaders to mission-driven roles, led the search in partnership with the committee.
O’Doherty will be stepping into the new role on March 14th. As President and CEO, O’Doherty will provide strategic leadership to a staff of 20 and work with a dedicated board of 36 community leaders, more than 300 community partners, 4,000 donors and 5,000 volunteers across five Northwest Indiana counties.
In October 2021, Lake Area United Way and United Way of Porter County merged to become United Way of Northwest Indiana. For more than 50 years, the organizations have been providing a variety of health, education and financial stability social services. In 2021, collectively both United Ways provided more than $5 million in resources to help people thrive.