Katy Leclair next president, CEO of the Greater Joliet Area YMCA

Katy Leclair will become the new president and CEO at the Greater Joliet Area YMCA on July 12.

Leclair has worked at the Joliet-based nonprofit for 18 years and will replace retiring leader Jim Watts. Watts served the YMCA for 40 years, with the last nine as CEO in Joliet.

Board of Directors Chairman Nick Macris said in a news release that he is excited about Leclair’s new role.

“After having conducted an extensive national search, we continued to be very impressed by Katy’s professionalism, passion and dedication for our YMCA,” Macris said in the release. “Katy has been a valuable member of our leadership team for many years, and we are excited for her to take the next step in her career and lead our YMCA as we continue to advance our mission throughout Will and Grundy counties.”

Leclair, an Oak Forest native, joined the Greater Joliet YMCA in 2013 as its senior vice president and chief operating officer, according to the release. Before coming to Joliet, Leclair worked for YMCA associations in St. Louis, Naperville, Miami, Kankakee and Chicago. She also served later served as CEO at 360 Youth Services in Naperville for two years and then returned to the Greater Joliet Area YMCA in 2017.

As the Greater Joliet Area YMCA’s COO, Leclair helped lead the association’s four branches and helped oversee operations and staff development for the YMCA’s 500 full-time, part-time and seasonal employees. During Leclair’s tenure, “the YMCA’s membership and program enrollment reached all-time highs, and the organization’s operating revenue grew by more than 71%, surpassing $11.4 million in 2019,” according to the release.

Leclair also “managed several multimillion-dollar renovation projects and negotiated long-term strategic partnerships with local health care providers, school districts and other like-minded community organizations,” according to the release.

As the Morris Community YMCA has worked build a full facility YMCA in Grundy County, LeClair has helped to secure lead capital gifts from Morris Hospital & Healthcare Centers and the city of Morris, according to the release.

She helped lead the YMCA when it closed for three months because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and she also helped lead the YMCA’s recovery efforts by working to secure federal relief funding and charitable support, according to the release.

The Greater Joliet Area YMCA also expanded its 20-year-old before- and after-school school programs to accommodate families who needed additional care with remote learning, according to a 2020 Herald-News story.

Leclair also serves on the board for the Zonta Club of Joliet and has belonged to local chapters of the Kiwanis and Rotary Clubs, according to the release.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Webster University and a juris doctor degree from the Thomas M. Cooley Law School at Western Michigan University. She is also a former two-sport collegiate athlete, according to the release.

Leclair and her husband, Steve, a teacher at Plainfield South High School, live in Plainfield with their son, Austin.