United Way of Northern Arizona is pleased to announce that Kyla Garrison, an associate at W.L. Gore and a longtime member of UWNA Community Investment Team, has joined its Board of Directors.
“Kyla has been a true volunteer leader and we are very excited to have her as a board member,” said UWNA President and CEO Carol Dykes.
A native of Phoenix who visited Flagstaff during the summers before moving here 17 years ago, Kyla says she feels blessed to call northern Arizona home and share it with her husband and two children.
She has been with W.L. Gore and Associates for the past 16 years, most recently focusing on digital processes and capabilities, although her work has also included being part of the human resources team and negotiating multi-million dollar contracts.
“Gore’s been amazing because it’s allowed me to use my skills in a lot of different areas,” she said. Describing her current work in IT, she says that “it boils down to helping people understand what they need to do and finding the best way to do it.”
Like many Gore employees, Kyla learned about UWNA’s work through annual workplace campaigns. About 10 years ago she became a Community Investment Team volunteer and then a team leader two years ago.
CI teams are part of UWNA’s commitment to make sure that donations go to proven programs in the community. They review grant applications and make recommendations, which are then reviewed by UWNA’s Finance Committee, and ultimately voted on by the Board of Directors.
“I think the way United Way does this is really essential,” Kyla said about the CI process. “It brings in the community that is going to be impacted by these programs into the process.”
In both her life and career, Kyla says she’s always pursued ways to make systems better, and she plans to bring that passion to her work on the UWNA board.
“My hope is that I can use my time and skills to further the way UWNA and the board are trying to go,” she said.