United Way Welcomes Giselle Ferro Puigbo as Chief Development Officer

BOSTON – United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley welcomes Giselle Ferro Puigbo as Chief Development Officer, President and CEO Bob Giannino announced today. An advocate for equity and social justice with over 20 years of experience as a leader in nonprofit development and fundraising, Puigbo will begin in her role on May 2.

Puigbo is joining United Way as it builds on its core strengths of funding nonprofit partners to achieve impact, leveraging assets of corporate partnerships and inspiring donors to help fuel powerful change in communities.

In her new role, Puigbo will lead United Way’s development efforts, managing a team of 40 professionals charged with annually raising more than $50 million. Puigbo will oversee the development team’s work to expand and diversify fundraising by integrating corporate and workplace giving with a focus on robust individual major gift initiatives, foundation relations, corporate impact partnerships, special events and planned giving.

“I am so proud to join the United Way and this incredible team during this crucial time of rebuilding and recovery, when the longstanding work for equity and justice is center stage and philanthropy has a key role to play in ensuring that work flourishes in support of communities across Massachusetts,” Puigbo said. “If I’ve learned anything these past two years, it’s that our greatest powers are rooted in connection and our most effective actions are collective.”

“We are so excited to welcome Giselle to the United Way family. Giselle joins us as we begin to reposition United Way’s community impact work to best address the profound and historic inequities that we as a community have a unique and urgent opportunity to address,” said Bob Giannino, President and CEO at United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley. “Giselle is a proven leader in the nonprofit sector with a discerning focus on equity and inclusion, values that align closely with those of our incredible development team. We have a lot of work to do to help empower our communities as we meet this moment to reimagine and rebuild.”

Puigbo joins the region’s largest United Way following her leadership role as Executive Director of the Brookline Community Foundation, where she led the design and implementation of a new strategic plan that prioritized community-centered and collaborative approaches to advancing equity-focused initiatives around racial and economic justice. Prior to that role, Puigbo served as Vice President of Development for Health Leads, where she oversaw local and national development strategy for the Boston-based national nonprofit that partners with communities and health systems to remove barriers to equitable access to healthcare. Puigbo has also held development roles at high-impact education nonprofits, including Teach for America and Blue Engine.

Puigbo began her career as an attorney in her hometown of Miami. A first-generation college graduate from a family that emigrated from Colombia, Puigbo has a personal investment in supporting youth and families from historically marginalized communities.

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