Portland, Ore. – United Way of the Columbia-Willamette recently hired Dahnesh Medora as the nonprofit’s Chief Impact Officer, where he will oversee core program areas, serve as the organization’s lead impact strategist and support the development and implementation of the strategic plan.
Prior to joining United Way, Dahnesh served as the Building Community Portfolio Director at the Meyer Memorial Trust. In this role, he helped create and manage one of Meyer’s largest grantmaking programs and channeled more than $30 million over six years to Oregon based nonprofits seeking to build social, economic and political power in communities of color.
“With more than 20 years of leadership experience and a commitment to make equity a common cause, Dahnesh is a true asset to our organization,” said Cindy Adams, CEO of United Way of the Columbia-Willamette. “His ability to meet people where they are while also being unequivocal in the push for racial justice will serve the organization well as we implement the strategic plan that is currently being developed for the organization.”
Prior to Meyer, he served as the Senior Associate for Nonprofit Support at Education Northwest, supporting collective impact projects, nonprofits and governmental agencies like the Social Innovation Fund. As Director of Programs at the Nonprofit Association of Oregon, and at the National Community Development Institute, Dahnesh organized cohort programs focused on organizations serving communities of color. As Director of External Relations at the Tides Foundation, he also worked with new and emerging social justice projects across the United States.
“I’m excited to join United Way of the Columbia-Willamette at this interesting juncture in the organization’s history and at a time when community needs are great,” said Dahnesh. “I see United Way as something of a ‘Swiss Army pocketknife’ that can serve many different purposes and look forward to helping sharpen its value proposition and commitment to racial equity.”
When Dahnesh isn’t serving his community in his role, he enjoys spending time with and entertaining his daughter, who is still young enough to think he is hilarious.
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Media Contact: Adrian McCarthy -- adrianm@unitedway-pdx.org -- 503-730-9721
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About United of the Columbia-Willamette
For more than one hundred years, United Way of the Columbia-Willamette has been working to meet the needs of vulnerable families. No matter the crisis, we have always remained steadfast to our commitment to LIVE UNITED. Together, we are helping our community recover and become more resilient, while building a more inclusive and equitable region where all families have the resources and opportunities to thrive. For more information and to get involved, please visit www.unitedway-pdx.org.