Browder reflects on her legacy as she steps away from United Way of Santa Cruz County

As a fifth grader in South Los Angeles, Keisha Browder’s parents enrolled her in an after-school program offered by a nonprofit organization at her school so she wouldn’t have to walk home by herself. 

The program provided a safe space for Browder to grow and try new things, she said. It was where she found track and field, a sport that changed her life — it led her to an athletic scholarship to college and qualifying for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. 

So, when Browder first accepted the CEO role at United Way of Santa Cruz County in 2018, it was a full-circle moment, she said. A United Way location in Los Angeles helped shape Browder into the person she is today, leading the organization’s Bay Area division after serving the Santa Cruz community for 12 years. 

Browder started her journey with United Way in 2010 as a resource development director for its location in Charleston, South Carolina, before joining the Santa Cruz location in 2012 as director of development and marketing. 

Browder made history during her time at United Way of Santa Cruz, becoming the first Black woman to ever lead the organization in its 80-year history. She felt the pressure of having to create her legacy, and also honor those who came before her, she said. 

“When you’re the first, there is this pressure, whether it is internal, and I found it to be more internal than anything else, and it was a good pressure,” said Browder. “Because here’s an opportunity for me to be a leader, someone who can do things differently, someone who is in charge of taking such a legacy organization to another level.”

She’s making similar history as she heads the significantly larger United Way Bay Area. She’s the first Black woman to lead the organization in its 102-year history. Browder said she feels good knowing that she’s continuing to dismantle barriers and creating space for more leaders of color to step into leadership positions.

Browder recalls being stopped at a grocery store in Santa Cruz by a young Black girl who recognized her as the United Way CEO, and feeling proud when the young girl saw Browder as a community leader. The moment let her know that the next generation is watching. 

“I may be the first, but I won’t be the last,” said Browder. 

During her tenure leading United Way of Santa Cruz County, Browder focused on local youth. Communities are well when children are well, said Browder. She wanted to find the root causes of barriers to quality of life that children were facing. 

Browder wanted to ensure that kids had access to quality education, that they were college- and career-ready, that they could have a head start on understanding economic empowerment and having access to quality health care. She wanted them to find agency in their voice in the same way the United Way affected her at a young age. 

United Way of Santa Cruz County serves more than 1,200 kids and teens in the county through programs such as Jóvenes Sanos — focused on uplifting youth voices to shift the stigma on mental health. These programs are growing a generation of thinkers and decision makers, and helping them feel confident to step into the next chapter of their lives, said Browder. 

“I can walk away 12 years later to say that is my legacy, when we shifted gears and really focused on what it meant to have youth thriving as human beings,” said Browder. “That was the game-changer for United Way over the past six years.” 

Browder hopes to receive a phone call 20 years from now from someone who participated in the youth programs to let her know they’re leading a nonprofit or a United Way, similar to how she called the Los Angeles United Way when named CEO in Santa Cruz, she said. 

When Browder moved to Watsonville in 2012, her twins were barely a year old, and now they are middle school students. When she looks at their growth, she’s reminded of her growth at United Way, she said. 

As she steps into her new role, Browder is taking inventory of what she’s been able to accomplish, like the “Emerging Leaders Circle” program or “Stuff the Bus” initiative. She’s able to reflect on her time in Santa Cruz and say “mission accomplished.”

“It was time for me to pass the baton. I can’t run the entire relay race by myself,” said Browder. “I’ve run a great leg, and now it’s for me to pass the baton for the next leader, for the next up-and-coming leader in Santa Cruz County, to then look at United Way and create their footprint, create their legacy.”

Browder was a mentor to many on her team in Santa Cruz, and believes they are ready and capable of stepping into any role to maintain and evolve programs to the next level.

Browder’s hope is that the United Way of Santa Cruz County team continues to amplify the impact of investing in the county’s youth, she said. She looks forward to watching what they accomplish “from the other side of the hill.”

In a joint statement to Lookout, Dawn Bruckel, director of resource development and marketing, and Amanda Gamban, program and communications manager for United Way of Santa Cruz County, said: “Keisha is so incredibly deserving of this exciting next opportunity to grow with United Way and we are just so fortunate to have worked on her team and under her mentorship for the past three years.”

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