Welcome New Board Members!

Starting January 2025

Deborah Bayle
Deborah Bayle had a successful 40-year career as a professional in the nonprofit sector. For 20 of those years, she served in the CEO position. She served as President and CEO of United Way of Salt Lake (UWSL) for 16 years, until late 2015, where she led the organization through a dramatic transformation of its vision, mission, and business model; going from a traditional United Way to an organization dedicated to results-driven community change. Before her tenure at UWSL, Deborah served as CEO of the Greater Salt Lake Area Chapter of the American Red Cross. She also served on the staff of the Salt Lake Area Chamber of Commerce for 20 years, where she rose to the position of Chief Operating Officer.

She is committed to community service and currently spends much of her time serving on corporate and nonprofit boards. She is the Chair of the Board of Directors of Altabank, a position she was elected to in 2021. She is the Past Chair of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Corporate Directors, Utah Chapter, and currently serves as a member of the Executive Committee and as Nominating/Governance Committee Chair. She is a Past Chair of the Board of Directors of the National Alumni Association for United Way professionals, United Way NEXT.  Deborah is a trustee of The Mark and Kathie Miller Foundation and is a member of the Advisory Board of the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah. She is a member of the Utah Chapter of the International Women’s Forum.

When Deborah retired as CEO of United Way of Salt Lake, the Board of Directors named a scholarship program in her name to honor her service to the organization. She chairs the Deborah S. Bayle Scholarships for Youth, which provides four-year college scholarships to at-risk youth who have been impacted by the work of UWSL. To date, this program has provided scholarships to more than 75 deserving students.

Deborah serves as a consultant with DSB Consulting, LLC, where she works in the areas of executive coaching, professional development, organizational management, and change strategy. Throughout her career, Deborah has served on more than 30 corporate and nonprofit boards and has been recognized with more than 20 awards. She has two children and is a doting Grammy to three grandchildren.

​Kiran Handa Gaudioso
​Kiran Handa Gaudioso is the Chief Executive Officer of United Way of Northern New Jersey and president of United For ALICE. She has overseen strategic planning for how the organization fulfills its mission of improving life for ALICE and those in poverty at the local, state, and national level including, United for ALICE. This national research-based initiative provides an accurate study of households that earn above the poverty level, but less than a basic cost of living.   

During the pandemic, she led the establishment of the ALICE Recovery Fund and the creation of an innovative childcare pilot, United in Care. She was asked by Governor Murphy to co-chair the Third Sector Advisory Council to work with public sector leaders across the state to develop relief, recovery, and re-imagine strategies to support ALICE.

Before joining United Way, Kiran served as interim CEO and vice president of Program Operations at New Jersey After 3, the public-private partnership that worked to provide safe, quality after-school and expanded learning time programs for 15,000 public school students in New Jersey. Kiran developed programmatic and operational management expertise while serving as director of Mentoring, Volunteerism & Enrichment Programs at Sponsor For Educational Opportunity in New York City. There, she led the development of a mentoring program designed to help New York City teens reach their academic, personal, and career potential.

Early in her career, as a policy adviser under former Governor James Florio, Kiran was instrumental in establishing AmeriCorps in New Jersey. 

Kiran received her B.A. in political science and policy studies from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. She received a fellowship to attend The Eagleton Institute of Public Politics at Rutgers University, earning her M.A. in political science. She is a lifelong resident of New Jersey where she and her husband have lived for 30 years raising their two children. ​

Paula S. Gilberto
Paula S. Gilberto has 44 years of experience in the nonprofit sector. She capped a 24-year career with United Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut, retiring in March 2022 as its President and CEO. Prior to that, she served in various Chapter and Blood Services management positions with the American Red Cross, Connecticut Region.

Paula’s career has included building public/private partnerships to further student achievement, economic mobility, and workforce development. She also held leadership roles in strategic planning, fundraising, and organizational development, as well as developing and replicating education and financial security initiatives regionally and nationally.

Paula is a founding member of United Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut’s Women United and Women of Tocqueville, the latter of which she co-chairs. 

She serves on the board of directors of the National Fund for Workforce Solutions, the American Savings Foundation, Connecticut Voices for Children, and the YWCA New Britain. She is also an Election Monitor, State of Connecticut; Farmington Food Pantry volunteer; and a member of the National Organization for Italian American Women.

Paula holds a Master of Science in Organizational Behavior from the University of Hartford and a Bachelor of Science in Communications and Psychology from the University of Bridgeport. She is also a Family Strengthening for Success Fellow from the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.​

Neil Parekh
Neil Parekh has been part of the United Way family since 2011. He served as the VP of Marketing and Communications at United Way of Snohomish County in Everett, Washington, for four years; the Director of Network Communications at United Way Worldwide for five years and has been a member of United Way NEXT since 2020. Since 2023 he has served on the United Way NEXT Marketing Committee.

At United Way of Snohomish County, Neil supervised the Marketing and Communications Team; managed social media and public relations; and coordinated the development of all marketing materials.

At United Way Worldwide, Neil led monthly webinars; ran an award-winning monthly Twitter Chat (#UnitedWayChat); produced a daily newsletter for 13,000 local staff (Breakfast with United Way); led crisis communications and provided guidance and support to local United Ways on branding, messaging, and communications, in general.

Neil currently serves as the Vice President of Events and Communications for Digimentors, a social/ events / AI consultancy. He works with nonprofits, corporate clients, government agencies, and higher ed to produce livestream events, manage social media, and supervise video production projects. He has worked with a range of different clients including several local United Ways; the Southern Poverty Law Center; the John and Lillian Miles Lewis Foundation; The Graphic History Company; the University at Buffalo Law School; the Louisiana Policy Institute for Children; the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce and the U.S. Export Import Bank.

Neil is the Executive Producer and Guest Host of "Sree's Sunday #NYTReadalong" (a weekly livestream show) and the Co-Host / Producer of "Shining Light on Shadows: A Candid Conversation About Mental Health" (a twice-a-month livestream show).

Dona Ponepinto
Dona Ponepinto is a change agent. With her steadfast and thoughtful nature, she has broken down barriers in the communities surrounding her, both in her career and volunteer service. She is currently the President and CEO of United Way of Pierce County, Tacoma, Washington. Dona joined UWPC in January of 2014 and has over 30 years of experience within the United Way network and a long history of working on behalf of children and their families.

Since taking the reins in Pierce County, Dona led a ground-breaking three-state research project on the financial stability of families known as ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed), spearheaded the creation of the yearly, From Poverty to Possibilities summit, and launched the Center for Strong Families, that focuses on helping families increase their income, decrease expenses, build credit, and acquire assets. Currently, in partnership with the City of Tacoma, County, and DSHS, she and her team are leading another Guaranteed Income Demonstration project.

Before joining United Way of Pierce County, Dona was a Vice President at United Way for Southeast Michigan (UWSEM) in Detroit, Michigan. While in Michigan, she led the development and implementation of a re-imagined community investment model. Before joining UWSEM, she was with Orange County’s United Way and the United Way of Greater Los Angeles.

Dona has consistently been very engaged in her community and has demonstrated strong leadership through service and board membership. She is a member of the Junior League Tacoma and is a past President of the Association of Junior Leagues International. In addition, she serves on the boards of the Tacoma Art Museum, Wellfound Behavioral Health Hospital, Coordinated Care, and the Workforce Development Council. In 2019, she was appointed by Governor Jay Inslee to serve as a Board of Trustee for Tacoma Community College and is currently chair of the Board.

She was recently honored by the University of Washington Milgard School of Business as the 2024 Non-Profit Leader of the Year.

Dona holds a BA in Psychology and a Master of Science Degree in Counseling with an emphasis in children and families from Creighton University.

Darlene Slaughter
Darlene R. Slaughter is a visionary with a passion to remove barriers and provide equal opportunities for all. As the first appointed Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer for Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), Darlene will support leading a culture of engagement, innovation, accountability, trust, and diversity and inclusion for the 13,000-employee team.

Prior to joining WMATA, Darlene served as the Chief Diversity Officer for March of Dimes; United Way Worldwide; Linkage Institute for Leading Diversity and Inclusion; and led an integrated strategy to utilize and support the talents of the employees as Fannie Mae’s Chief Diversity Officer.

Darlene’s work as a leader and in Diversity continues to be recognized. She has received many awards and honors, including Diversity Woman Media Elite 100; SAVOY’s Top 100 Influential Women in Corporate America, Profiles in Diversity Journal’s Women Worth Watching, Black Enterprises’ Top Executives in Diversity, and Heart & Soul’s Women of Substance in Finance, in addition to gracing the cover of Inclusion Magazine. Darlene served on Twitter’s ICD Council, the American University President’s Diversity Council and Alumni Board, and the Springboard Foundation for Disability. She is a fellow and a board member of the Simmons University Inclusive Leadership Institute and a board member of the Social Capital Academy at Fullerton University in California.
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Darlene holds a M.S. in Human Resource Management and Organizational Development from American University and a B.S. in Elementary Education from Howard University.