YMCA of the USA (Y-USA), the national resource office for 850 Y associations (each its own 501(c)(3) organization), has appointed Karyn Boston as the new Executive V.P/General Counsel. Boston will work with Y-USA’s executive team and board to provide guidance and counsel, ensuring legal compliance for the organization.
With over 20 years’ experience, Boston is no stranger to the Y family, having served as the Associate General Counsel/Chief Compliance Officer from 2007 to 2014. During this time, she helped usher Y-USA through negotiated partnerships for the YMCA’s Diabetes Prevention Program, led the legal strategy for the Y’s brand revitalization and developed YMCA trademark compliance/enforcement policies and procedures.
Since then, Boston has been serving as the Chief Compliance and Privacy Officer at Florida International University in Miami. There, she oversaw all aspects of the university’s institutional compliance program, including advancement, environmental health and safety, emergency management, equal opportunity programs and diversity, financial aid, government relations, IT security, NCAA compliance, policy administration.
“I am thrilled that Karyn is returning to Y-USA,” said Kevin Washington, president and CEO of Y-USA. “She is highly respected within our organization, and she has both the legal expertise and organizational knowledge needed to thrive as our General Counsel.”
Boston received her Bachelor of Science from Hampton University and her JD from Michigan State University School of Law. In 2013, she was named one of Inside Counsel Magazine’s R-3 100 list. Boston is a member of Links, Incorporated (Miami chapter), which provides services to women, youth and seniors; Jack and Jill, Inc. (Miami chapter); and is also a member of the national public service sorority Delta Sigma Theta, Inc.
The Y is one of the nation’s leading nonprofits strengthening communities through youth development, healthy living and social responsibility. Across the U.S., 2,700 Ys engage 22 million men, women and children – regardless of age, income or background – to nurture the potential of children and teens, improve the nation’s health and well-being, and provide opportunities to give back and support neighbors. Anchored in more than 10,000 communities, the Y has the long-standing relationships and physical presence not just to promise, but to deliver, lasting personal and social change.
