Laura Yates Clark

Laura Yates Clark leads Foundation for the Carolinas as president of the organization. FFTC, the community foundation serving Charlotte and a 13-county region, is one of the largest community foundations in the U.S. with more than $5 billion in assets and nearly 3,000 charitable funds. FFTC leads a variety of civic leadership initiatives in areas such as affordable housing and housing insecurity, economic opportunity, public school reform, arts funding, childhood literacy, the environment and more.

Clark previously served as President and CEO of United Way of Greater Charlotte, leading efforts to improve economic mobility and advance racial equity across four counties. A Charlotte native, Clark was named the sixth leader in the nearly 90-year history of United Way of Greater Charlotte in August 2018. Prior to the role, she joined the United Way team in 2016 as executive vice president and chief impact officer and led the transformation of the organization’s community impact strategy to more directly address economic mobility challenges across the Charlotte region. Under Laura’s leadership, United Way increased its investment to expand two major community initiatives: United Neighborhoods to drive neighborhood transformation and revitalization and Unite Charlotte to improve racial equity and increase social capital. 

A proven leader and longtime advocate for children and families, Clark previously served as CEO of the Renaissance West Community Initiative, director of The Larry King Center at Charlotte’s Council for Children’s Rights and an earlier stint with United Way as director of evaluation and community impact. 

She currently serves on the Purpose Built Communities Board of Directors and the UNC Charlotte Board of Visitors. She has also held leadership roles as chair of the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Charlotte Branch, and as a board member of NC Child and United Way of North Carolina.

Clark earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Appalachian State University and a master’s degree in clinical/community psychology from UNC Charlotte. In her downtime, she enjoys reading novels, cooking and traveling to the beach.