Outgoing President and CEO Lindsay Fox moderates a discussion with Rich Harwood of the Harwood Foundation in November 2023. Photo contributed by United Way

United Way Fresno and Madera Counties is now searching nationally for a new CEO. Lindsay Fox has officially transitioned from the role of president and CEO after eight years of transformative leadership that increased the organization’s size, scope, impact and budget, according to a news release.

The United Way board employed the recruiting firm Cooper Coleman to conduct a nationwide search to secure a permanent replacement.

As Fox exits to pursue other endeavors serving Central Valley residents, the United Way board has selected Kyle B. Rahn as interim president and CEO. 

“Lindsay’s dynamic leadership over the past eight years has contributed to increased community collaboration and unprecedented growth for our organization. We are grateful for her tenure and leadership,” said United Way Board President Kirk Haynes in a press release. “And we’re thankful for Kyle’s strategic leadership and expertise as we continue the search to fill the role of the next President and CEO of our organization.”

United Way announced new leadership last May. Oliver Rodriguez was set to take over as president and CEO of the organization on June 30, 2023, as Fox prepared her exit. Shortly after he departed after a period of family leave.

Fox stepped back into her previous role.

In the eight years Fox served, the Fresno and Madera Counties chapter was able to shift focus from only addressing the immediate needs of the mid-Central Valley’s most disinvested community members to playing a more active role in attempting to dismantle more significant structural and institutional issues that keep people in generational poverty.

 

“It has been an incredible gift to serve the Fresno and Madera County communities these past eight years,” said Fox. “It’s now time for a new leader for the organization to build upon the strategic vision set in 2016.”

Rahn previously served as the first female president and CEO of United Way of Southern Nevada (UWSN). Under her leadership, she guided the organization’s cradle-to-career community-based agenda, building strong partnerships to improve outcomes in early childhood education, student success, post-secondary attainment, and workforce development. 

She also created a diversity task force at UWSN, ensuring that all community grant funding applied an equity lens, according to a news release. She brings over 30 years of progressive experience leading high-performing teams, strengthening donor and board relations, navigating high growth and turnaround, and strategic planning in industries ranging from private organizations to complex nonprofits. 

Most recently, she served as the interim chief development and marketing officer of United Way in New York City.

“I look forward to being part of a progressive Local United Way that is strategic and transformational in its work. Leading and being a part of UWFM until the new President and CEO is appointed is a great opportunity, and I have the pleasure of working with a wonderful team and Board of Directors,” says Rahn, whose contract will remain open-ended during the national replacement search.

Paul Towne, the vice president of executive search at Cooper Coleman, leads the recruitment process for United Way’s new CEO. Interested parties can learn more about the position when it is posted in mid-April at https://www.coopercoleman.com/current-searches.