Whitney Fordham has been selected to take on the role of Director, Alumni Relations and Executive Director, UFV Alumni Association. She will be the first person to hold this new position.
A UFV alumna herself, Whitney has had a long and positive relationship with UFV, and is currently the Manager, Alumni Relations, a position she has held since 2015. She also worked for UFV Residence Services and Student Life in full-time positions earlier in her career.
She started as a student at UFV in the mid-2000s, graduating with a Bachelor of Business Administration in 2009. She also earned a Master of Public Administration from the University of Victoria in 2019.
During her time as Manager, Alumni Relations, Whitney has developed an affinity program strategy that doubled revenues; developed and implemented a biennial alumni survey; planned and launched a biennial alumni reconnect campaign; launched 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 through collaboration with others and providing value-added program and service delivery. I am looking forward to continuing my work on behalf of UFV alumni and the university in this new role with new responsibilities.”
Whitney lives in her hometown of Chilliwack with her husband Peter, also an alumnus, and their two daughters. She is currently on maternity leave and will return to take on her new role in May, 2022.
Ali Siemens, also a UFV alumna, will take on the interim role of Director, Alumni Relations and Executive Director, UFV Alumni Association, until Whitney’s return.
Ali earned her BA at UFV in 2013 and currently runs her own consulting firm, Golden Hour Consulting.
She served as Chair of the UFV Alumni Association for one year from 2019 to 2020.
She worked in Alumni Relations at the British Columbia Institute of Technology from 2017 to 2021, and as operations manager at the Abbotsford Airshow from 2015-17. “I am delighted to welcome Whitney to her new role when she returns from maternity leave, and confident that Ali will do an exemplary job of managing Alumni Relations until Whitney’s return,” said Craig Toews, VP External at UFV.