University of the Fraser Valley

Whitney Fordham is UFV’s inaugural Director, Alumni Relations

Whitney Fordham is UFV’s inaugural Director, Alumni Relations

Whitney Fordham has begun a new role at UFV as Director, Alumni Relations and Executive Director, UFV Alumni Association. 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 Director, Alumni Relations, leads alumni engagement for more than 47,000 UFV alumni and provides administrative support and consultation to the UFV Alumni Association Board of Directors.

A UFV alum (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 Student Housing and in Student Life. Fordham also served as an elected staff representative on the UFV Board of Governors. 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 developed an affinity program that doubled revenues; 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 alum, I am proud of the institution and very enthusiastic about supporting and strengthening the UFV brand through collaboration with others and providing value-added programs and service delivery. I am looking forward to continuing my work on behalf of UFV alumni and 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 is responsible for driving alumni engagement strategies with the goal of fostering life-long relationships between UFV and our alumni.

“I am delighted to welcome back Whitney from her parental leave and 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, Vice-President, External.

“I also want to extend my heartfelt thanks to Ali Siemens for her work as interim Director. We are grateful for her insightful leadership and appreciate she is staying on until the end of June to assist with the leadership transition.”

Whitney lives in her hometown of Chilliwack with her husband Peter, also an alumnus, and their two daughters.