After 38 years in the YMCA movement, and a decade leading the South Sound YMCA, President & CEO Kyle Cronk will retire on December 31, 2026. The YMCA Board of Trustees will launch a nationwide search for their next leader.
Prior to taking his position at the South Sound Y, Kyle served as President & CEO of the Olympic Peninsula YMCA. There he led the conversion of the Sequim Area Aquatic Center into a full YMCA, expanding access to health, wellness, and community for families across the peninsula.
When he arrived in Olympia in 2015, he went straight to work expanding services across the South Sound. Early in his tenure he worked closely with community leaders in Mason County to raise $13 million in just 13 months leading to the construction of the Shelton Family YMCA. Today, the Shelton Y serves nearly 8,000 Mason County residents each year as a community center and resource hub.
When asked what he’s built, however, Kyle doesn’t start with buildings. “The buildings matter because of what happens inside them,” Cronk shares.” A family who learns to swim together. A young multicultural staffer who sees themselves in leadership for the first time. A middle schooler who finds an adult who believes in them. That’s the work. Everything else is just the container.”
Middle school programming is another place where Kyle made an impact on the communities he served. First, during his time at the Seattle YMCA partnering with Seattle Public Schools, then here with schools across Thurston and Mason Counties, he developed and expanded partnerships and programs that meet young people where they are.
Kyle believes, “middle school is where kids decide who they’re going to be,” and ensures they have “caring professionals around them so no kid makes that decision alone.”
More recently Kyle has become known across our community and the national YMCA movement for his leadership in dismantling systems that create inequity. This commitment runs deep in the organization and is now woven into internal systems, culture, and community partnerships.
“Under Kyle’s leadership, being an anti-racist, multicultural organization is who we are as a YMCA. It is through learning together in community that we become better able to serve all people who walk through our doors.” says, Anthony Brock, Chair of the South Sound YMCA Board of Trustees.
A Strong Foundation for What’s Next
Cronk leaves the organization in the strongest financial position in its history. Over the past decade, the South Sound YMCA has sustained operating surpluses, significantly strengthened reserves, and purchased two pieces of property in north Thurston County. The financial strength and increased assets position the Y for growth as it continues to hit record numbers in membership sales.
The Board of Trustees will launch a comprehensive, nationwide search for the Y’s next President & CEO, facilitated by YMCA of the USA. The search committee, led by Anthony Brock, expects to name a successor by January 2027, ensuring a smooth transition and continuity of leadership.