Faye Washington

As President & CEO of the YWCA Greater Los Angeles, Faye Washington is a rainmaker in the world of non-profit. Her 32-year government record of management, personnel administration, legislative and budget policy development, strategic planning and implementing budgets of over $3 billion created the landscape for her groundbreaking tenure of leading the YWCA GLA in its mission of eliminating racism and empowering women.

Because of the urgency of the YWCA GLA’s mission, Washington strategically pursues funding opportunities that result in multi-generational impact and long-term residual value for the community at large. She walks with giants and demands the impossible for the sake of those who have no voice or power. Through meticulous hard work, creative vision, audacity, and persistence, Washington has become known as a “game changer.”

In an economy where development is scarce, Washington has successfully orchestrated multi-million dollar facilities that will yield triple net bottom line results year after year for the Los Angeles community. Among these development projects is the state of the art, fully funded Union Pacific Empowerment Center in East Los Angeles. The center offers child development, senior programs, career transitional programs and California High School Exit Exam Preparation.

A savant in project development, Washington masterminded the landmark Los Angeles Job Corps Urban Campus. To create revenue to sustain the Urban Campus and YWCA Job Corps programs, Washington led a seven-year, multi-tiered pitch for funding and received monies allocated by President Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). The Urban Campus is a state of the art, seven story building with health facilities, library, dining accommodations, vocational training classrooms, campus-wide green spaces, dormitory rooms and offices for YWCA staff. The project, completed in April 2012, required $70 million in total project development. Through new market tax credits and other creative financing, Washington masterfully raised the funds required, resulting in a fully funded project. The groundbreaking Urban Campus serves as a home to 400 at risk youth and offers the blueprint to replicate this vision in other urban centers around the country.

Recognized by educational institutions such as the Drucker School of Business and the Graduate School of Non Profit Management, as an authority on strategic non-profit fundraising, Washington is in top demand as a guest lecturer, panelist and keynote speaker across the country. She is associated with several high profile community groups including the National Job Corps Association, United Way, The Links; Downtown Breakfast Club; the International Women Leadership Organization and the Affirmative Action Association for Women.

She sits on the Boards of: City of Los Angeles Work Force Development; Los Angeles City South Park Business Improvement District; Municipal Improvement Corporation of Los Angeles and City Club Board of Governors.

Washington’s contributions to the community have earned her numerous recognitions and awards, one of which was the honor bestowed by The National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) for her significant contributions to the community and entrepreneurial excellence

Washington’s philosophy for community programs that embrace the “whole family” approach, including child care, job training, supportive housing and indi­vidual empowerment will certainly leave a brilliant legacy of making Los Angeles a better place for its citizens to live, learn and grow.