United Way Grows Development Team, Announces Three Key Hires

Alicia Adamson, Ty Nguyen and Marvin Rocha will expand and diversify philanthropic efforts to advance an economically just region

BOSTON – United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley today announces the recent addition of three leaders to the nonprofit organization’s development team: Alicia Adamson as Senior Vice President of Development, Engagement; Ty Nguyen as Senior Vice President of Development, Corporate Partnerships; and Marvin Rocha as Senior Vice President Development, Individual Giving.

The team will further develop, nurture, and strengthen United Way’s philanthropic relationships with individuals and corporations in a collective effort to ensure access to financial wellbeing and prosperity is shared across race and ethnicity throughout the region. The team will also oversee and implement United Way’s refined strategy, grounded in racial and social justice, to deeply engage the community, donors, and volunteers to scale United Way’s impact in communities. The Development team is led by Giselle Ferro Puigbo, who joined United Way in May.

“We are thrilled to welcome these three incredible leaders to our Development team as we continue to reposition United Way’s strategic direction to drive new, equity-driven solutions, with a particular focus in our communities with populations that have been historically marginalized,” said Bob Giannino, President and CEO at United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley. “Alicia, Ty and Marvin are already hard at work, helping us build on United Way’s core strengths of funding nonprofit partners to achieve impact, leveraging assets of corporate partnerships, inspiring donors, and connecting stakeholders to collectively advance community goals.”

Alicia Adamson
Adamson is returning to the region’s largest United Way, after most recently serving as the Executive Director of the Brookline Teen Center, where she expanded revenue streams, raised transformational six-figure gifts, redesigned programming with an equity lens, rebuilt the infrastructure of the organization, and mobilized the Brookline community around the organization’s vision.

Adamson previously served as deputy director of the Boston Debate League and, in addition to working at United Way for nearly 8 years, held leadership positions at Reebok and Kaplan Test Prep & Admissions. Alicia is also the proud founder emeritus and spent 10 years as the executive director of the National Black Women’s Society Inc., designed to empower and cultivate the advancement of women of color in Boston.

Ty Nguyen
Nguyen joins United Way with nearly 30 years of business development and people management experience, including over a decade within the nonprofit sector championing social and economic justice with Year Up and most recently creating partnerships to support the capacity-building needs of nonprofits with Catchafire.

Originally from Washington D.C., Nguyen started his career in technology with internet and telecommunications giants including America Online and MCI-Worldcom. Nguyen takes pride in working with organizations where diversity is a pillar of creative, innovative, and productive workforces.

Marvin Rocha
Marvin Rocha joins United Way from his most recent role as Senior Director of Major Gifts at Fenway Health. He began his career as a Teach for America (TFA) first-grade teacher in Phoenix. After teaching for two years, Rocha joined TFA leadership staff, serving in multiple roles in Los Angeles before becoming the Director of Individual Giving in the TFA Miami-Dade region.

Rocha returned to his alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania, and spent nearly a decade in various roles, including Director of Multicultural Outreach & Penn Spectrum Programs and as part of the institution’s annual fund staff as Associate Director of Young Alumni Programs. A first-generation Nicaraguan-American, Rocha feels a deep personal connection to the United Way’s mission of economic and social justice.

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