Brian Gallagher is a nonprofit executive. He is the former president and CEO of

United Way Worldwide United Way is an international network of over 1,800 local nonprofit organization, nonprofit fundraising affiliates. Prior to 2015, United Way was the largest nonprofit organization in the United States by donations from the public. Individual Un ...

Early life and education

Gallagher was born in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. He was raised in

Hobart, Indiana Hobart ( , ) is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 29,752 at the 2020 census, up from 29,059 in 2010. It has been historically primarily residential, though recent annexation has added a notable retail corridor to ...

, where he was one of six children. His father was a plumber and his mother was a homemaker who reupholstered chairs for extra income. In 1981, he graduated from

Ball State University Ball State University (Ball State or BSU) is a public research university in Muncie, Indiana, United States. The university has three off-campus centers in Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, and Fishers, Indiana. The university is composed of seven aca ...

with a degree in

social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

and started with the United Way as a management trainee. In 1992, he received his

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

from

Emory University Emory University is a private university, private research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded in 1836 as Emory College by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory. Its main campu ...

, and in 2003 Ball State University awarded Gallagher an honorary Doctor of Humanities.

Career

After working for United Way for 21 years (with the last five at the United Way in

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451–1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, the capital city of the U.S. state of Ohio * Columbus, Georgia, a city i ...

), Gallagher was appointed to be the President and CEO of the

United Way of America United Way is an international network of over 1,800 local nonprofit fundraising affiliates. Prior to 2015, United Way was the largest nonprofit organization in the United States by donations from the public. Individual United Ways mobilize a sin ...

in 2002. He held this position he held until 2009 when United Way of America and United Way International joined to form United Way Worldwide. In January 2017, he was appointed by then-

Governor of Indiana The governor of Indiana is the head of government of the U.S. state of Indiana. The governor is elected to a four-year term and is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day management of the functions of many agencies of the Indiana state gover ...

Mike Pence Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...

as a trustee of his alma mater

for a term lasting until December 31, 2020. In March 2021, Gallagher resigned from United Way following allegations that United Way Worldwide retaliated against employees for reporting sexual harassment. Three female employees had filed complaints with the

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is a federal agency that was established via the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to administer and enforce civil rights laws against workplace discrimination. The EEOC investigates discrimination ...

alleging misconduct and retaliation after they filed their complaints. One of the woman alleged Gallagher fired her as retaliation for reporting sexual harassment by another unnamed executive. A United Way Worldwide commissioned investigation found no “actionable harassment, discrimination, or retaliation” at the organization, but the women who filed the complaints called those findings into question. Gallagher said of the allegations: “There is no evidence of a toxic or hostile culture. Is there room for improvement? Absolutely, just like almost any other workplace.”

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gallagher, Brian Living people Year of birth missing (living people) American nonprofit executives United Ways people People from Hobart, Indiana Ball State University alumni Emory University alumni