Kirkland Parks and Community Foundation (KPCF) non-profit focused on improving life for everyone who lives, works and plays in Kirkland, today announced it has hired Cori Walters as its first executive director.
Walters comes to KPCF most recently as an East King County food bank Executive Director, which she grew from a staff of 3 and an annual budget of $380K to a staff of 14 with a $1.7M budget.
“KPCF has created a strong foundation through community fundraising and investment in our initial projects and we’re off to a strong start providing necessary resources and services to the Kirkland community,” KPCF Board President Jonathan Heuer said. “Hiring Cori as our first executive director will help us accelerate our mission, tapping in to her decades of experience in non-profit executive leadership and community engagement and we couldn’t be more pleased that she’s joining us at this important time.”
Recent KPCF projects include renewing free music in the park and working with a local high school artist to paint a community mural around salmon conservation, and in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, KPCF created several campaigns to channel resources those in need. Kirkland Delivers supported local restaurants while feeding food-insecure neighbors. KPCF raised money for low income people to enjoy Kirkland’s many recreation programs, worked with the City of Kirkland and New Bethlehem Programs to help homeless kids with remote learning, partnered with Kirkland Nourishing Network to purchase grocery gift cards for families used to relying on public schools for food and funded the creation of the counseling center for the new shelter for women and families.
“I love the mission of KPCF, its committed board and volunteers, and its already strong track record of local fundraising and targeted projects,” Cori Walters said. “As its first paid employee, I’m excited to expand delivery of the organization’s mission to work with local stakeholders to identify needs, define and develop projects, in order to continue to make Kirkland an incredible place to live, work and play.”
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