Management Team
Learn more about the passionate leaders of our organization
Learn more about the passionate leaders of our organization
Carla Vargas Jasa, President and CEO
Carla Vargas Jasa is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Valley of the Sun United Way, which serves the more than 4.3M people of Maricopa County by fighting for kids, families and the neighborhoods where they live. Valley of the Sun United Way is the 3rd largest United Way in the nation with annual revenues in excess of $85M and is supported by 90,000 individual donors, 5,000 volunteers, 400 companies and hundreds of non-profits and schools. Under her leadership, United Way works to improve the lives of community members by focusing on systemic change efforts impacting kids and families in Maricopa County’s underserved communities.
Vargas Jasa joins Valley of the Sun United Way in June 2019 as the first female and Latina President. Prior to this role, she held several leadership roles for Orange County United Way, including Senior Vice President of Community Impact and Chief Operating Officer. The Orange County United Way serves a population of over 3 million people and is also among the largest in the United Way system.
With Vargas Jasa’s leadership, that United Way launched FACE 2024, a 10-year strategic community impact plan driven by measurable community goals, which are tracked and reported in an annual Community Scorecard. She also guided the launch of United to End Homelessness, a communitywide response to Orange County’s growing homelessness population which brought new and innovative public-private partnerships to that market.
Vargas Jasa has a B.A. in Political Science from the University of California at Berkeley. In both 2015 and 2016, Vargas Jasa was recognized as a nominee for the Orange County Business Journal “Women in Business” Award and in 2012 received the OC Metro’s “40 Under 40” award. In her free time, Carla enjoys spending time with her husband and traveling to explore new wineries north and south of the border.
Tanya M. Muñiz, Chief Finance & Administration Officer
As Chief Financial Officer, Tanya oversees all fiscal and fiduciary responsibilities for the organization and leads the development of long term economic strategy. Tanya and her team provide key stakeholders, including the Board of Directors, the leadership team and staff, our donors and the general public with key information which helps them assess United Way’s effectiveness and efficiency. She holds a Bachelor of Accountancy from New Mexico State University.
Tanya was recognized as one of Arizona’s 40 Hispanic Leaders Under 40 of 2011, Financial Executive International Non-Profit CFO of the Year in Arizona 2013, and named by Phoenix Business Journal as one of Phoenix’s 40 Under 40 of 2014. Phoenix Business Journal has also recognized her as one of Phoenix’s Outstanding CFO’s and Rising Star. Tanya serves on the United World Wide Financial Issues Committee and United World Wide Diversity and Inclusion Council where she leads efforts to leverage the diversity of Latinos/Hispanics to create more inclusive communities.
Tanya serves on the Board and Finance Committee for Arizona Grantmaker’s Forum and as Board Treasurer for the Phoenix Community Tool Bank. She is a member of Financial Executive International and mentors for New Pathways for Youth. She is an active alumnus with Valley Leadership and Valle del Sol Hispanic Leadership Institute.
Tamera Skrovan, Chief Corporate & Brand Development Officer
Tamera Skrovan oversees Donor Impact at Valley of the Sun United Way. She directs strategic engagement initiatives, including marketing and communications and aspects of revenue generation, including annual workforce campaigns, major and planned gifts, grants, and volunteerism. Tamera leads the engagement of organizations and individuals to achieve aspirations we all share: a good education for our kids, a roof over our heads, food on the table and the security that comes with financial independence.
Tamera holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from Iowa State University. She brings more than 25 years of diverse strategy, brand development and marketing experience to United Way. Prior to joining United Way, Tamera was Director of Marketing for The Nature Conservancy. She helped advance Fortune 500 brands such as Target Stores and Caterpillar, Inc., and served as Director of Brand Development for one of Europe’s top internet brands, Chello Broadband.
Tamera serves on community boards including the communications committees for BUILD and Read On Arizona.
Penny Allee Taylor, Chief Public Policy Officer
As Chief Public Policy Officer, Penny oversees all advocacy and public policy efforts for Valley of the Sun United Way at the federal, state, and local levels. She develops plans and strategies to address issues around youth and children, hunger and homelessness, and financial stability for individuals and families.
Prior to joining United Way, Penny served for 20 years in the Corporate Public Affairs Department of Southwest Gas Corporation managing issues at the Arizona State Legislature, the Governor’s Office, state agencies, and also worked with Arizona cities, towns, and counties and with the federal delegation. Prior to joining Southwest Gas, Penny served in other government relations capacities at the federal, state and county levels.
Penny has been an active member of numerous professional, community and civic organizations and was elected to the Maricopa County Charter Committee. Penny graduated from Arizona State University with a Bachelor of Science in Political Science.
Rob Podlogar, Chief Community Development and Engagement Officer
Rob oversees Community Impact and Engagement at Valley of the Sun United Way. In this role, Rob guides the development and execution of the organizations 5-year Impact Agenda and aligns key new revenue opportunities with solutions for our community. In addition to Community Impact work, Rob also directs Grants, Major Gifts and donor circle initiatives. Rob has proven effectiveness in developing and executing strategy within and between organizations, and also has experience building strong collaboration between individuals and teams.
Rob holds a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing from Ohio Northern University. He brings more than 35 years of diverse leadership, strategy, philanthropy, foundation and financial services sector experience to the role.
Prior to joining United Way, Rob was the CEO of the Siemer Institute—founded by United Way Million Dollar Roundtable donors, Al and Barbara Siemer, with the intent to replicate and scale their homelessness prevention program which launched in Sarasota, Florida in 2003. Under Rob’s leadership, the Institute grew to more than 50 of the largest United Way organizations in the country, raising over $20MM annually and assisting more than 35,000 students and 15,000 families each year. Successful outcomes were achieved through helping each United Way tailor existing local programs to meet the needs of the families, keeping them housed and, in turn, reducing the students’ mobility between schools. Rob partnered closely with each United Way to assist with securing local donor funding to build a sustainable program for years to come. Nationally, Rob’s responsibilities also included directing the development and implementation of all aspects of the Institute, both long-term and strategic, as well as the day-to-day operations, overall accountability, fiscal management and program oversight.
While residing in Columbus, OH Rob was active in the LGBTQI+ community and served as Board President for Stonewall Columbus. He was also a Board of Trustee member for The Legacy Fund and active in The Human Rights Campaign.