Trident United Way Names Chloe Knight Tonney New CEO

Press Release

Chloe Knight Tonney (Provided)

Trident United Way announced on Monday that it has hired Chloe (pronounced chlo) Knight Tonney as its next president & CEO. TUW’s Board of Directors and a search committee made up of agency partners, donors and volunteers conducted a nationwide search after current CEO Chris Kerrigan announced his retirement, slated for April 2019.

“Charleston is a great place to live and so it isn’t surprising that we had an exemplary field of applicants to choose from,” Bank of South Carolina CEO Fleetwood Hassell said.  Hassell sits on the board and chaired the search committee. “We knew how important selecting the right candidate was to the community and the organization – we had to get it right.”

Tonney returns to the Tri-County area after spending 16 years with the CDC Foundation in Atlanta, where she most recently served as the chief innovation and strategy officer. She focused on catalyzing creative partnerships that advanced the mission of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Tonney brings more than 30 years of overall nonprofit advancement, strategy and management experience with her to TUW.

“Trident United Way has benefitted from a history of strong leadership and low turnover at the helm,” TUW Board Chair Bob Fei said. “We are very excited to welcome Chloe to the TUW family and know that she will carry on the tradition of creating community transformation through collective impact in education, financial stability and health.” Fei’s company Life Cycle Engineering assisted Trident United Way and the search committee in the selection process.

Tonney is a College of Charleston graduate, where she holds a B.A. in Political Science and an honorary doctorate of Humane Letters. She gave the commencement address to the College of Charleston Graduate School in 2013. She is a member of the College of Charleston Foundation Board of Directors, serving on the executive, advancement and development committees. Her husband, Rick Tonney, is a graduate of The Citadel.

“I am thrilled to be returning to the Tri-County region,” Tonney said. “It’s an extraordinary area with a vibrant culture and people. The region is undergoing tremendous growth and change, and I look forward to reconnecting with the community and working to ensure that opportunities for a quality education, financial stability and health are optimized for its citizens. I can’t wait to get started!”

Tonney will begin her new role no later than March 7, 2019. She replaces longtime president & CEO Chris Kerrigan, who will be retiring after 20 years of service to the Tri-County region.

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