Susan McIsaac became President and CEO of United Way Toronto & York Region on September 1, 2010. She is a widely recognized leader with more than 20 years experience in the non-profit sector.
A senior executive with United Way since 1998, Susan is a key architect of the organization's transformation from trusted fundraiser to community mobilizer and catalyst for impact. In her previous role as the organization's Chief Development Officer, United Way's annual fundraising campaign was reshaped to focus on engaging donors and volunteers in strategies to change social conditions in our city. Campaign revenue grew from $58-million in 1998 to $117.6-million in 2014.
Susan has spent a lifetime in service to the community and was awarded a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee medal in 2012 in recognition of her efforts. She currently serves on Greater Toronto CivicAction Alliance's Board of Directors, mentors the next generation of non-profit leaders through United Way's CITY Leaders program, and is a steering committee member of the Governor General's Initiative on Volunteerism and Philanthropy. In 2014 she was selected by the Women's Executive Network (WXN) as one of Canada's Top 100 Most Powerful Women in the Sun Life Financial Trailblazers & Trendsetters Category.
Susan has held senior roles with KCI Ketchum Canada, a leader in organizational health and philanthropic counsel and also led Loyalist College's first capital campaign.
The story beneath these statistics and trends is even more worrisome. United Way surveyed almost 3,000 people in our city to ask how they feel about their current situation and prospects for the future. We found that 86 per cent of people say the gap between rich and poor is too big -- a consistent sentiment regardless of income, age, education, or background.