“Tracy has established herself as a national leader and visionary,” said YWCA CEO Lorraine Cole, noting Lakatua had spent the last two years as treasurer of the National Coordinating Board, is a past president of the YWCA Missoula Board of Directors and also served on the YWCA Missoula Racial Justice Task Force.

“Tracy is also exceptionally committed to the YWCA’s mission of eliminating racism and empowering women,” said Cole. “She participated in the YWCA Missoula’s three-year racial justice social marketing campaign that won the YWCA’s coveted Hallmark Award last year.”

Next year marks the YWCAs 150th anniversary and its nearly 300 local YWCAs will be celebrating the anniversary, officially Nov. 24, 2008, through December 2009.“The YWCA is rich in both history and accomplishments,” said Lakatua. “Women of great intellect, character, faith, and vision planted deep roots when they created the YWCA and those roots have gown into wide branches that now cover the United States. We have so much to celebrate and such a bright future to create!”

Lakatua has been a member of more than a dozen non-profit boards at the local, state, regional and national level, and currently serves on the grant-making committee for the Social Justice Fund Northwest. She started volunteering for the YWCA in 2000 and joined the NCB in 2004. Lakatua succeeds YWCA Central Alabama CEO Suzanne Durham as NCB Chair.