The Young Women’s Resource Center (YWRC) has named Rachel Woodhouse its interim executive director while the board of directors conducts a search for its next leader. Woodhouse started the role Monday.

Woodhouse succeeds Kari Zimmerman who became YWRC’s executive director in 2020.

Woodhouse has spent more than a decade of her career in philanthropy, supporting nonprofit organizations in Central Iowa and beyond. She joins the YWRC after more than six years as a program manager at Principal Foundation. Her experience includes donor relations, fund development, grantmaking, volunteer management and nonprofit governance.

“With Rachel’s leadership, and that of our existing staff, we will remain a consistent source of support for local girls and young women,” Ka’Meka Lowery, president of YWRC’s board of directors, said in a prepared statement.

Woodhouse has been a volunteer and supporter of YWRC since 2012, including serving in the inaugural group of young professionals focused on fundraising efforts and program volunteerism.

“Girls today face no fewer challenges than when Louise Rosenfield Noun founded the Young Women’s Resource Center in 1978,” Woodhouse said in a prepared statement. “With our strong board, dedicated staff, and generous community support, we will continue its legacy of empowering young women to overcome these challenges and create their best futures.”