Orange County United Way

MANAGEMENT

CEO/Executive Director

Susan Parks

CEO/Executive Director Experience

As President and CEO of Orange County United Way, Susan B. Parks leads the nonprofit organization’s mission to improve lives and strengthen the Orange County community. She embraces the United Way mission by delivering measurable, long-term solutions to complex issues in education, financial stability, health, and housing. She is a leading community advocate for change, igniting passion for philanthropy and inspiring social responsibility. Parks has a long history with the organization as a former board member and one of the founding members of the Orange County United Way Women’s Philanthropy Fund. She was also an active player in the development of the nonprofit’s 10-year strategic plan to achieve substantial and sustainable social change in our county. This community-wide action plan, titled FACE 2024, is a collaborative approach advancing the common good by Funding innovative programs, Advocating for the voiceless, Collaborating with those who have the passion and expertise to get things done, and Educating community leaders about critical issues facing Orange County. Today, Parks is an active leader of the campaign and spearheads the work to reach the strategic plan goals and create brighter futures for local children and families. Under Parks’ leadership, the organization launched three key initiatives to address the Orange County community’s most critical issues: United to End Homelessness℠, aimed at ending homelessness in Orange County for good by providing needed housing and support services; United for Financial Security℠, which empowers Orange County families to get on the path from surviving to thriving; and United for Student Success℠, which works to ensure all Orange County students graduate high school prepared for college, career, and beyond. Parks currently serves on the Commission to End Homelessness and is a member of the University of California, Irvine (UCI) Chief Executive Roundtable. Additionally, she has served as the Vice Chair of the United Way Worldwide Health Campaign; past chair and co-chair of Women’s Wellness Day for the Susan Samueli Center for Integrative Medicine at UCI; former board President of Susan G. Komen Orange County Affiliate; and former board member of Girl Scouts of Orange County and the Paul Merage School at UCI. Prior to joining United Way, she was Co-Founder and CEO of iCount Wellness™ at WalkStyles Inc., a leading corporate wellness program. Parks has also held executive roles in several Fortune 500 and 1000 companies including Kinkos, Gateway, Inc., and US West. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Administration from Iowa State University and completed post-graduate classes at San Francisco State University. Parks has received numerous accolades, including the 2021 Excellence in Executive Leadership Honoree Award by the CSU Fullerton’s Center for Leadership, the 2020 Woman of the Year Award from Congressman Lou Correa, the Impact 2020 CEO of the Year Award, the Orange County Business Journal’s Women of the Year Award, recognition on the Orange County Business Journal’s 2019 OC 500 List, the Pioneering Award from the local chapter of the National Association of Women in Business Organization (NAWBO), the Literacy Project Foundation Distinguished Humanitarian of the Year, Girl Scouts Celebrate Leadership Recipient, OC Register 2018 Top 100 Influencers, and, in 2018, was awarded a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition for her work with United to End Homelessness.

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