A new era of leadership at United Way of King County began on July 14 as Blair Taylor began his tenure as the organization’s third president and CEO since 2000.

A former member of United Way’s board of directors from 2016-2020 (including its chair from 2016-2017), Taylor was named the organization’s president and CEO in June. July 14 marked his first day on the job, which included a welcome and fireside chat with United Way staff.

“I couldn’t be more excited to be here,” said Taylor after meeting with United Way staff. “There are so many good things about this agency. The history of great work, great people, communities that need us—it is such a wonderful place to be.”

A familiar face in both the Seattle business and nonprofit community, Taylor currently chairs the board of the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle and serves on the Advisory Board of the Neurosciences Institute at the University of Washington.

He previously served in several leadership roles at Starbucks, managing global human resources, corporate social responsibility, community affairs, government affairs, and global philanthropy.  Taylor also served as CEO of both the Los Angeles Urban League and President Barack Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper Alliance.

One of the largest local agencies in the 1,100-member United Way Worldwide sphere, United Way of King County works side by side with partners to build an equitable future. Our programming and strategic focus is to support the well-being of King County residents—investing in access to financial resources, quality education, enough to eat, and a safe place to call home—while also working to transform inequitable systems.

“Blair brings an exceptional breadth of leadership experience across the corporate, nonprofit, and public sectors, along with a deep and unwavering commitment to advancing equity and opportunity in our communities. His track record of driving transformative impact makes him uniquely suited to lead United Way of King County into its next chapter,” said Lisa Chin, United Way board chair, last month.

“Over the course of his distinguished career, Blair has demonstrated the power of cross-sector collaboration to create lasting change,” Chin added. “His visionary leadership and proven ability to align organizations around a shared purpose will be invaluable as United Way of King County continues to expand its impact across the region.”

Taylor has also served in academic roles at the UCLA Anderson School of Management and, most recently, at Arizona State University, where he’s been an Executive in Residence and Adjunct Professor of Cross-Sector Collaboration.

“I am grateful for the entire staff of this agency and all of the supporters that we have out there,” said Taylor. “From funders to community members to other organizations that work with us. I look forward to meeting with each and every one of you.”