Kim O’Neill is the Vice President for University Advancement and the President and CEO of The Foundation for WWU & Alumni. Since coming aboard in July 2021, Kim has led the University Advancement team in securing $45 Million in gifts and pledges, among which include the second largest cash gift and the most successful Give Day in the university’s history.

Under Kim’s leadership, the WWU Alumni Association and the Western Foundation—two previously separate non-profit entities—successfully merged and now operate together as the Foundation for WWU & Alumni, with 34 employees serving over 130,000 university alumni and friends. Kim additionally works with the 30-person Foundation for WWU & Alumni Board of Directors, whose mission is to encourage and facilitate ongoing engagement with Western alumni and stakeholders, which leads to gifts and commitments of private support for the benefit of the students, faculty, and programs of the institution.

Prior to Western, O’Neill served in a number of development roles at the University of Idaho, ultimately advancing to Associate Vice President of Development for the university. She then served as Associate Vice President of Advancement at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, before returning to her home state of Washington.

A native of Stanwood, O’Neill began her career as an agriculture teacher in Enumclaw, Stanwood, and Colton School Districts. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture from Washington State University.