A Year of Transition: YWCA Welcomes New CEO

Heather Hoell brings two decades of experience in nonprofit leadership, advocacy, and campaign management to her position as well as lived experience as a survivor. Prior to joining YWCA, she spent ten years helping Portland’s small business owners create a more inclusive economy. She holds a certificate as an Advanced Diversity and Inclusion Practitioner from Cornell University and studied the Neurology of Equity and Inclusion at Work with Paloma Medina and Flourish Training. A caretaker of 75 houseplants, Heather specializes in nurturing flora, organizations, and communities.In addition to welcoming a new CEO, YWCA PDX has also over the past year 

  • Hired 18 new people to expand and improve programs

  • Introduced a housing-secure wage structure and wellness resources for all employees 

  • Facilitated raising over $2 million for the 28 community-led, grassroots groups we fiscally sponsor

  • Family Preservation Project program staff returned to Coffee Creek Prison to offer in-person services to incarcerated moms for the first time in three years (since the beginning of the pandemic!)

  • Hosted an emotional and healing memorial service to celebrate the lives of the seniors we lost during the pandemic 

  • Completely restructured our Survivor Services program to better meet the overwhelming need of survivors of domestic and sexual violence

  • Launched a new cohort model for our 40-hour training to certify domestic violence advocates 

  • Expanded our community health offerings to address the inequitable health impacts of COVID and the “tripledemic” (COVID, RSV, and flu), particularly among monolingual Spanish speakers

Pictured above: Susan Stoltenberg, who retired from her position as CEO of YWCA of Greater Portland last June.

After a decade of dedicated service, Susan Stoltenberg retired last year as CEO. Susan joined YWCA at a critical moment and, with courage and incredible creativity, stabilized the organization in its moment of need. During her tenure, she doubled the number of employees, increased the amount of client assistance provided annually from $200,000 to $2 million, and launched our fiscal sponsorship program, which supports emerging BIPOC and community-led projects across the Portland region. In recognition of her work improving the safety of survivors of domestic violence and their families, Susan received the Judge Harrell Award in 2022. Before her retirement, Susan oriented incoming CEO, Heather Hoell, facilitating a smooth transition.

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