Formerly Vice President of the United Way of Passaic County, Yvonne leads the organization in raising charitable contributions and investing them with local programs. She has nine years of experience in the non-profit sector. Yvonne joined The United Way of Passaic County in 1997, in a staff position, to direct the process of allocating $1.2 million to local social service programs. She was named Vice President in 1999, and President in December 2000.

In her tenure, Ms. Zuidema has been instrumental in implementing the organization’s strategic plan, creating a new system for distributing funds to local programs, and presenting a community assessment. She also revived the Volunteer Center and the Day of Caring, two hallmark programs of United Ways across the country. Most recently she was instrumental in establishing an endowment for the future of the local United Way. Prior to joining The United Way of Passaic County, she was employed by West Bergen Mental Healthcare in Ridgewood, NJ and St. Mary’s Hospital in Passaic, NJ. She has 5 years experience as a social worker in the state of New Jersey. She received a Bachelor’s degree in social work (BSW) 1992, from Calvin College, Grand Rapids Michigan and a Master’s degree in social work (MSW) 1996, with a concentration in administration, policy and planning, from Rutgers University New Brunswick, NJ.

Currently her efforts and goals for United Way focus on increasing the organization’s annual revenues and endowment, increasing the amount of funds invested with local programs, and finding new ways to encourage more citizens to become involved in philanthropy and volunteerism.