Dunetchka Otero-Serrano, New YWCA Executive Director

YWCA Clark County is pleased to announce that Dunetchka Otero-Serrano will become Executive Director effective Dec. 28, 2020. Her career in nonprofit management spans 20 years and includes roles in case management, community outreach, executive leadership, and board service.Since 2015, Otero-Serrano has served as Executive Director of Community Warehouse, a nonprofit that provides donated household furnishings to neighbors in need. She led the organization’s transformation by providing leadership for change in the critical areas of marketing, resource development, equity, inclusion and staff retention. With a development team, she doubled the organization’s operating budget, with dramatic increases in major donor contributions, private and public funding, and an annual gala.At Catholic Charities’ El Programa Hispano, Otero-Serrano served as Domestic Violence Program Coordinator from 2000-2003. Her responsibilities included recruiting, training and supervising case managers and volunteers; educating clients about immigration laws and their rights; and writing and managing local, state and federal grants for sexual assault prevention services.At Portland Parks and Recreation from 2003-2008, she led Latinx outreach and youth development. Among her accomplishments: She established bilingual outreach programs and created culturally specific programs in partnership with Portland Public Schools and community organizations in Portland and Gresham.

A voice for the voiceless

Otero-Serrano worked to elevate the voices of undocumented children and young adults as Associate Producer of the acclaimed documentary “Papers.” She advanced digital equity for under-served communities as Program and Development Director at Open Signal (formerly Portland Community Media) from 2008-2015.In reflecting on her new position, Otero-Serrano said: “I am passionate about bringing tools and resources to the community to create resilience and overcome systemic oppression. Joining the outstanding team at YWCA Clark County is a dream come true! It will be my honor to work with the team and community partners to advance racial justice and the empowerment of women and youth.”Otero-Serrano’s recent board experience includes Raphael House and the City of Portland’s Budget Advisory Committee. She earned a Master’s Degree in Public Administration (MPA) from the University of Ohio in Akron, OH, and a Bachelor in Business Administration degree from the Inter American University, Bayamon, Puerto Rico. She is also a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE).

'Long-term commitment to social justice'

Board President Holly Jacobs praised Otero-Serrano’s selection as the new YWCA Clark County leader.“We are thrilled to welcome Dunetchka to Clark County and the YWCA,” she said. “Her long-term commitment to social justice, combined with her leadership and nonprofit management track record, convinced the Board to select her in what turned out to be a truly outstanding pool of candidates.”She will succeed Interim Executive Director Robyn Steely, who, Jacobs said, “has led YWCA Clark County for the past nine months with grace, skill and heart through a difficult chapter involving reorganizing services in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.”