Whitney Fordham has begun a new role at the UFV Alumni Association as Executive Director, and as Director, Alumni Relations at UFV. She was selected as Director in December of 2021 while on parental leave and is the first person to hold this role on a permanent basis. The UFV Alumni Association’s Board of Directors appointed her as the organization’s inaugural Executive Director at their annual general meeting on May 25, 2022.

The Director, Alumni Relations and Executive Director, UFV Alumni Association leads alumni engagement for nearly 50,000 UFV alumni and provides administrative support and consultation to the UFV Alumni Association Board of Directors.

A UFV alumna herself (BBA ’09), Fordham has a long and positive relationship with UFV. Since 2015 she held the role of Manager, Alumni Relations, and prior to that worked in Residence Services and in Student Life. Fordham also served as an elected staff representative on the UFV Board of Governors for a three-year term. Her work on the Board inspired her to obtain a Master of Public Administration from the University of Victoria in 2019.

As Manager, Alumni Relations, Fordham achieved many milestones. She developed an affinity program that doubled revenues for the Alumni Association; developed and implemented a biennial alumni survey; planned and launched a biennial alumni reconnect campaign; launched a successful annual golf tournament; fostered a strong working relationship between UFV and the UFV Alumni Association; conducted an RFP process to seek out a new affinity partner for life and health insurance; led the planning for a comprehensive digital engagement strategy; and planned and executed the UFV Alumni Association’s first-ever virtual AGM.

“I have always been passionate about the work I do at UFV,” Whitney notes. “As an alumna, I am proud of the institution and very enthusiastic about supporting and strengthening the UFV brand. I am looking forward to continuing my work on behalf of UFV alumni, the university, and bringing strategic leadership to this new role.”

Through the development and implementation of strategic and business plans, the Director of Alumni Relations and Executive Director, UFV Alumni Association is responsible for driving alumni engagement strategies with the goal of fostering life-long relationships between UFV and its alumni.

“I am delighted to welcome Whitney into this new role at UFV. With her entrepreneurial flair and perspectives developed as a UFV student and alumna, a UFV Board of Governors member, and as UFV Alumni Relations Manager, I know she will provide invaluable leadership in this new role,” said Craig Toews, UFV’s Vice-President, External.

The UFV Alumni Association is equally as elated to be welcoming its very first Executive Director.  “Since joining UFV as staff in 2008, Whitney has held and excelled at several roles, and now we wish to acknowledge her as an accomplished expert in the field of Alumni Relations,” said Derrick Uittenbosch, association Chair. “She is going to be instrumental in our shift from operations to a governance-style board.”

He added, “Whitney is a trusted advisor to the board and has developed meaningful relationships with many alumni, alumni donors, and community partners. We all look forward to celebrating Whitney in this new role. Not only do we as a board have much to learn from her, but her peers across the institution will look to her for her impeccable leadership skills, emotional intelligence, and strategy for engaging alumni, UFV’s best brand ambassadors.”

Whitney lives in her hometown of Chilliwack with her partner Peter (BBA ’04), also a UFV alumnus, and their two daughters.