Lynn Wallace Naylor Passing Executive Director Baton to Denise Villanueva
DUBLIN, CA, June 28, 2017 – After celebrating 10 years of service to children worldwide, World of Children’s Executive Director, Lynn Wallace Naylor, announced her plan to move on from the global recognition and funding organization for individuals exclusively serving the needs of vulnerable children. Denise Villanueva will take the lead as the new Executive Director on July 1, 2017.
“I am proud of all we have accomplished together, growing exponentially from a modest organization into the highly regarded, world class philanthropy we are today,” Lynn said. “I look forward to continuing our work together, now as a volunteer, donor, and life-long advocate for people in need.”
To read a full farewell message from Lynn, please click here.
“Lynn’s leadership, commitment and passion for the mission of World of Children have resulted in incredible growth over the past ten years,” said Kay Isaacson-Leibowitz and Harry Leibowitz, Co-Founders of World of Children. “We are grateful for her partnership and look forward to our ongoing friendship.”
Lynn will be passing the baton to Denise Villanueva, a collaborative executive leader who has been a key player in assisting Fortune 500 companies and high-profile brands in the areas of strategic planning, business development, branding, comprehensive communications and events in the sports, entertainment, fashion and philanthropic sectors.
Denise was introduced to World of Children by longtime Board Member Ann O’Malley whom Denise met while a core team partner with the company affairs group at L Brands (Victoria’s Secret, Bath and Body Works et al). Previously, Denise held senior executive positions at The Walt Disney Company, Magic Johnson Enterprises, and the Magic Johnson Foundation.
A Southern California native, Denise graduated from UCLA with a B.A. in Economics. She stays connected to her alma mater mentoring students and represents UCLA as a member of the Advisory Board for the Impact of Sports on Economics and Society.
“I love what World of Children stands for and am moved by the group of people who have dedicated themselves to helping children – co-founders, board members, team members, ambassadors, Honorees, volunteers and donors,” Denise said. “As the organization moves into its 20th year, I am excited to help lead World of Children to bring a better, brighter future to even more children by increasing awareness and giving.”
Beginning January of this year, Denise has been assisting World of Children with marketing – working closely with the team, partners, event committee members, many board members, and the co-founders. Denise will continue to work closely with Lynn and the team at World of Children for a seamless transition as the offices will be relocating from Northern California to Southern California in the coming months.
“With more than 25 years of experience, Denise brings the strong skill set of marketing, PR and management to support our aggressive growth plans for the next 10 years. We welcome Denise into our World of Children family,” Kay and Harry said.
ABOUT WORLD OF CHILDREN
World of Children is led by Harry Leibowitz and Kay Isaacson-Leibowitz, retired senior executives from Procter & Gamble and Victoria’s Secret respectively. Since they founded the organization in 1998, with the goal of setting the gold standard in child advocacy award programs, World of Children has granted more than $11.5 million in cash grants and program support to more than 100 Honorees who are the driving force behind programs serving children in 140 countries.