Kenneth Gladish is the chief executive officer of the YMCA of the USA. He joined the YMCA after serving six years as executive director of the Indianapolis Foundation and William E. English Foundation and three years as president of the Central Indiana Community Foundation. He has also served as president of the Indiana Humanities Council, director of the Indiana Donors Alliance and taught at Indiana University in Indianapolis, as well as Butler University.

Dr. Gladish began his career as the assistant director for youth and community programs at the North Suburban YMCA outside of Chicago in the mid-1970s. During the last 20 years, he has served on the boards of the three local YMCAs, as well as on the National Board of the YMCA of the USA from 1977 to 1983. He also served as a U.S. delegate to the YMCA World Alliance Executive Committee in Geneva, Switzerland.