CWU trustee begins new role as president and CEO of Yakima foundation

Central Washington University Trustee Erin Black recently took over as the president and CEO of the Yakima Valley Community Foundation (YVCF).

In a recent article in the Yakima Herald-Republic, Black said she is hoping to stress the organization’s outreach to nonprofits and other organizations across the Yakima Valley.

“I want to help to be a connector in the work that we’re doing,” she said in the article published September 1. “We hope to really bring a variety of voices of people who can build solutions for some of the issues we’re wanting to deal with in our community, whether they’re emergent needs related to some of the devastating fires that we’ve had, or if we’re talking about long term, sustainable change."

Black has a long history of philanthropy and community development through her previous position as chief executive officer of The Memorial Foundation, as well as her work with the Downtown Yakima Rotary Club, where she served as president from 2023-24.

Prior to her role with the Memorial Foundation, Black served as executive director of the Yakima YWCA. She was hired by the YVCF earlier this summer when former president Sharon Miracle retired.

Black, who earned an anthropology degree from Central in 1998, joined the CWU Board of Trustees in 2015 and is one of the longest-serving current members. She served as chairperson from 2023-24 and her current six-year term runs through the end of this month.

She has more than 20 years of experience in healthcare philanthropy, fundraising, volunteer engagement, and community partnership development. Throughout her career, she has worked to connect donors, organizations, and community leaders with opportunities to improve health, education, and quality of life across Central Washington.

Black explained in the Yakima Herald article that both the natural setting and the generous people of the Yakima Valley have made a strong impression on her over the past 25-plus years.

“If you look around this community, there’s all these impressive things that have happened here, like PNWU, Children’s Village, Heritage University, YMCA, Martin Luther King Aquatic Center,” she said. “It’s just really inspiring to be part of a community that can make those kinds of things happen."

Learn more about Black’s new role with the YVCF on their website.