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Learn more about the passionate leaders of our organization
Carla Vargas Jasa grew up learning that to achieve “Bold Goals,” you must be willing and dedicated to creating “Mighty Change.” Her parents were the perfect teachers. As a student in Paraguay, her father protested against his country’s dictatorship and was consequently jailed and tortured. After her family relocated to the United States, it was her mother—while continuing to support her father’s activism—who raised Carla, teaching her English first knowing it was unlikely they would be able to return to their home country. Her parents’ dedication for human rights, equity and democracy endured and they passed this passion onto their daughter.
Carla joined Valley of the Sun United Way in 2019 as the first female and Latina leader of the organization, which serves the more than 4.5 million people of Maricopa County and is among the largest United Ways in the United States. In her first year, she led the nonprofit’s local response to COVID-19, rallying donors and uniting the nonprofit community. In just weeks, more than $3 million was raised, along with acquiring millions in PPE and $800,000 in gifts-in-kind, which was all swiftly put back into the communities where the need was greatest. During that same time, Carla launched Valley of the Sun United Way’s Diversity, Equity, Access and Inclusion initiative, co-led by staff and board members.
With an eye to the long-term needs that existed prior to and were exacerbated by the pandemic, Carla and her team launched MC2026, a five-year plan for Mighty Change in Maricopa County. Introduced in 2021, the plan was developed from community surveys, town halls and listening sessions and focuses on achieving bold community goals across four strategic priorities—Education, Housing and Homelessness, Health and Workforce Development—while addressing the systemic barriers to diversity, equity, access and inclusion that make these issues so pervasive.
Carla’s leadership is highly recognized in the Valley. In 2023, she was named “Woman of the Year” by the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. In 2021, Carla was named one of the Phoenix Business Journal’s Most Admired Leaders and Valley of the Sun United Way was selected for the Greater Phoenix Chamber’s Community Champion IMPACT Award. In 2020, she was recognized as a “Leader of the Year” by the Arizona Capitol Times and named among the “Most Influential Women in Arizona Business” by AZ Big Media. That year, Valley of the Sun United Way also received the largest gift in its nearly 100-year history, $25 million from MacKenzie Scott.
Prior to coming to the Valley, Carla held several leadership roles with Orange County United Way, where she guided the development of FACE 2024, a 10-year strategic community impact plan driven by measurable community goals. She also guided the launch of United to End Homelessness, a community-wide response that brought new and innovative public-private partnerships to the Southern California market.
She’s no stranger to Arizona. Carla spent her early childhood in Tucson where her father taught at the University of Arizona. She and her parents also lived in Mexico and California. Carla earned a B.A. in Political Science from the University of California at Berkeley. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband, Steve, and her Boston terrier, Ellie; hiking in the Arizona desert; cheering on Valley sports teams; and exploring new wineries north and south of the border.
“Carla is the leader we need right now, not only for United Way, but for our entire community. It is an honor for me to have the opportunity to work with her.”
John Graham, Chairman & CEO, Sunbelt Holdings
Valley of the Sun United Way, Chair, Board of Directors
Driven by her dedication to serving the people of her hometown and a passion for mobilizing the caring spirit of the Valley’s corporate community, Laura directs the corporate relations, fundraising, marketing and volunteerism teams with energy and creativity.
One of Laura’s key responsibilities is to lead the MC2026 Cabinet of community and corporate volunteers who are critical in engaging local companies in new ways to help advance their social responsibility objectives and achieve the MC2026 goals for the community.
Laura joined United Way in 2008 as a corporate development officer, and through her career has grown her impact by leading the development of the organization’s affinity groups, guiding the development of volunteerism, leading marketing’s shift to digital strategies and donor communications, and, most recently, growing corporate campaigns by focusing on the corporate social responsibility goals of its partners.
She is a University of Arizona graduate and remains engaged with the Eller School of Management, as well as Valley Leadership.
Emma Garcia is a seasoned corporate social responsibility executive and social impact strategist with a proven track record of delivering meaningful and measurable results through strategic planning efforts and transformative initiatives in corporate and philanthropic giving, stakeholder engagement, fundraising, program design, collaborative impact, advocacy and communications.
With a passion for servant leadership and a commitment to driving positive change, as Chief Community Development and Engagement Officer, Emma leads the implementation of Valley of the Sun United Way’s five-year strategic plan and impact agenda for Mighty Change, or MC2026, and oversees major and individual donor engagement strategies.
Emma holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of California, Berkeley, and she has honed her expertise through additional education, including a Nonprofit Executive Leadership Certificate from Arizona State University’s Lodestar Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Innovation and a Sustainability Certificate from Harvard Business School Online. Her leadership has been recognized through numerous awards, including the Phoenix Business Journal's Philanthropist of the Year and Diversity Champion Award.
Emma is a member of the International Society of Sustainability Professionals and a volunteer board and advisory council member for several nonprofit organizations. She is the proud mom of three adult children, and in her spare time, she enjoys cooking traditional Mexican meals and exploring the many Arizona hiking trails with her husband.
