The West Broad Street YMCA announced today that ZaDonna Slay will be its new chief executive officer beginning June 9.

“It is an honor and an extremely humbling opportunity to be selected to continue the historical legacy of the West Broad Street YMCA. I look forward to serving and working with community residents, neighboring businesses, churches, and partner agencies in a collaborative nature to meet the needs of our youth and families of the May Street corridor and beyond,” said Slay of her new capacity.

Officials with the YMCA said that Slay was selected after an exhaustive nationwide search led by YMCA of the USA search professionals and a local selection committee.

The selection committee was composed of members of the West Broad Street YMCA Board of Directors and community leaders.

Slay is the current executive director of the Savannah-Chatham Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA). She is a graduate of Herschel V. Jenkins High School and Savannah State University, where she earned a bachelor’s of social work.

She earned a master’s degree in social work from the University of South Carolina. A Savannah native, Slay is involved in many local organizations including Delta Sigma Theta, Inc. and The Links, Inc.

She was named a top business leader under 40 by Savannah Magazine and Business in Savannah and a person of interest by the Savannah Morning News. She is also a graduate of Leadership Savannah and the inaugural class of the Dale Carnegie Georgia CASA Leadership Academy.

“We are very pleased to have ZaDonna lead this historic Savannah organization. We are confident she will continue to grow the West Broad Street YMCA and be a policy leader on issues effecting our families,” David Sneed, the chairman of the West Broad Street YMCA Board of Directors said.

The West Broad Street YMCA is one of five remaining Heritage Ys in the country and is located in downtown Savannah on May Street. It serves all of Savannah, but has a special mission for families of the Kayton and Frazier Public Housing Neighborhoods.

There are over 500 children in the area from families with a median income of $8,200 per year. The West Broad Street YMCA works to help these families end generational poverty through education and enrichment programs.