Alison DeCourcey serves as President & CEO at United Community, a 53-year-old nonprofit offering an array of human services that lifts families in Fairfax County out of poverty. Alison is responsible for the agency’s overall strategy and administration, working with United Community’s board, staff, and community leaders to elevate the agency’s impact in the community. 

Prior to joining United Community, Alison held a variety of executive positions with the global consulting firm Ernst & Young (EY). She served as Global Director of Operations for the firm’s Strategic Growth Markets practice with offices in Washington, DC, and London. Her responsibilities throughout her EY career spanned the spectrum, from setting and achieving strategic priorities to planning, implementing, and directing global business and financial operations. She also championed EY’s People First initiative – mentoring and coaching, growing a collaborative culture, and inspiring teams to deliver high-impact results. 

Alison’s background also includes several years of leadership roles in the nonprofit sector. A long-time advocate for underserved families in Northern Virginia, she was the inaugural Director of Development and Strategic Alliances at one of the area’s largest homeless programs. Similarly, she served as the first Director of Development for Doorways for Women and Children, Northern Virginia’s award-winning homeless and domestic violence program. Her background also includes heading her own consulting firm, where she provided strategic planning, fundraising, and communication services to a range of organizations, from local nonprofits to global companies. 

With incisive vision, clear convictions, and a servant’s heart, Alison has volunteered her talents to several Alexandria organizations in a variety of leadership roles: Vice Chair of the Resource Development Committee at Hopkins House Preschool Academy, which provides educational opportunities for low-income families; Gift Committee Chair and Board Member of the Giving Circle of Alexandria, an organization of women devoted to social change; immediate past Chair and Board Member at the Schiller Center for Constructive Change, a nonprofit group dedicated to organizational transformation; and Troop Leader for Girl Scouts of America & National Capital Area. The Alexandria City Council appointed her to serve on the city’s Youth Policy Commission.

Alison received a Master of Public Policy from the University of Chicago, where she was a merit scholar. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts in public administration, cum laude, from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. 

A 20-year resident of Alexandria, Alison lives in the Rose Hill neighborhood with her husband, daughter, and twin sons.