Charity director takes job in Calif.

Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2001 | 10:05 a.m.

Gail Ousley, interim director of the United Way of Southern Nevada, has resigned to become vice president of a California United Way. Her resignation creates a leadership issue for the agency that finances local charities.

Ousley, who has been in Las Vegas for five years, was temporarily in charge of the organization that raises about $12 million annually for more than 150 nonprofit organizations. A national search is under way to replace longtime United Way Director Garth Winckler, who is retiring Monday.

Ousley's resignation is effective Jan. 14. On Jan. 22, she will begin her new job as vice president of resource development and marketing for the United Way of the Inland Valley in Riverside, near where much of her family, including her grandchildren, reside. The Inland Valley United Way is considerably smaller than the Las Vegas United Way, raising about $4 million annually.

"This was the hardest decision of my life," Ousley said Monday. "I feel there are exciting times ahead for the Las Vegas area, but this (the new job) was just too great an opportunity for me."

Gena Satori, spokeswoman for the local United Way, said the organization's board president, Laura Schulte, the president of Wells Fargo Bank, has been made aware of Ousley's decision and is expected to announce a new interim director by next week.

Ousley said she was not a candidate for the permanent leadership post in Las Vegas and had been given no projected ending date for her temporary director's position.

She declined to speculate whether her resignation would result in a speeding up of the process to find a permanent replacement through a national search. Ousley said it is possible, however, that United Way USA could assist with helping the local board find an interim director.

Ousley's resignation comes during a difficult time for the agency, which in late November received word that its largest contributor, MGM MIRAGE, will next year spread its employee payroll deduction plan donations to several charities and no longer give exclusively to the United Way.

Also, it was learned last month that the local United Way ranks 46th in the nation in assisting agencies that focus on health and welfare.

Ousley said both of those matters do not reflect a loss of public confidence in the local United Way.

"We still have an excellent relationship with MGM MIRAGE, this is just a case of the company taking greater control of its corporate donations," Ousley said. "Employees will still have the option to designate that their deductions go to the United Way."

Ousley said the situation could turn out to be a wash as far the final result of where the money -- $2.4 million from MGM MIRAGE -- goes. For example, if the United Way currently gives Charity X $100, and, under the new spread-the-wealth plan, MGM MIRAGE gives Charity X $50, the United Way simply would reduce its allocation to Charity X by $50.

Also, Ousley said, the United Way State of Caring Index report critical of Nevada was based on 1998 and 1999 statistics and much has changed since then, including record fund-raising years in Las Vegas the last two years. And, she said, a number of agencies supported by the United Way address many human needs, including health and wellness issues.

"I believe the people of Las Vegas have been very supportive and will continue to give generously," Ousley said.