Meg Louwagie is returning to a passion of hers, but it not without hesitation.
Louwagie, the CEO of the United Way of Southwest Minnesota (UWSWMN) announced last week that she be stepping down from her role effective April 30, 2026, as she transitions into a new position as Senior District Outreach Representative for Congresswoman Michelle Fischbach.
Fischbach will be the third member of Minneosta’s 7th Congressional District Louwagie has served under in a supportive role after Mark Kennedy and Colin Peterson.
She has been CEO for just shy of four years.
“This wasn’t an easy decision,” Louwagie said. “I was very passionate about serving the people of Minnesota in CD 7 and enjoyed my time greatly in Congressional offices. The United Way office has given me the opportunity to work in a smaller area and more indepthly with the community partners, as well as working really hard almost the last four years to increase our accessibility and visibility of the United Way of Southwest Minnesota.”
During her tenure with the UWSWMN, Louwagie led several key initiatives that expanded both the reach and responsiveness of UWSWMN, including the creation of the Disaster Recovery Fund, providing timely and structured support during periods of crisis; the launch of the Bright Beginnings, Brighter Futures Scholarship Program to increase access to educational opportunities; the continued growth of the annual Radioathon, strengthening donor engagement and community connection; and the establishment of the Kindness Investment Program grants, which support local groups through smallscale, community level projects. Throughout this work, her leadership consistently emphasized increasing the accessibility and visibility of United Way of Southwest Minnesota, ensuring programs, resources, and messaging reached a broader and more diverse audience while strengthening relationships with nonprofits, businesses, and community partners.
“We have worked hard to change our relevancy instead of only doing direct services through our community partners,” Louwagie said. “We had a large storm here last July where we started up our first disaster recovery fund; we had never done that before.”
Louwagie, a longtime United Way volunteer, said the UWSWMN this year its starting a pilot program called “Bright Stars, Brighter Futures” in which the UWSWMN is granting a $1,000 scholarship to each regional high schools that are interested.
“I’m very proud of the things that we have implemented and how we’ve increased our visibility and accessibility over the past four years.”
According to a news release, the UWSWMN Board of Directors will begin a transition process to support leadership continuity and initiate a search for the organization’s next CEO.
“Meg has been a passionate, steady, and deeply committed leader for United Way of Southwest Minnesota,” said Matt Suby, UWSWMN Board Chair. “Her vision, care for community, and unwavering dedication to this organization have significantly strengthened United Way’s presence and impact across southwest Minnesota.”
Louwagie said she is looking forward to transitioning back to a supportive role with the UWSWMN.
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