Pam Cornforth

Pamela Whitehead Cornforth is a mission-focused, energetic, and passionate organizational leader with more than 25 years of nonprofit leadership experience. Pam is deeply committed to making a difference in the lives of families who have seriously ill children and her local community. Pam joined the Junior League of Wilmington in 1987, after moving to the area as a commercial loan officer turned stay-at-home mom and being solicited by JLW members to buy raffle tickets to support construction of a Ronald McDonald House. She went on to lead the League's Ronald McDonald Raffle Committee and eventually would be tapped to serve as both President of the JLW (1997-98) and as President/CEO of the Ronald McDonald House of Delaware (1999-present). Pam oversees all House and Ronald McDonald Family Room operations, which serve 5,000 families yearly, Pam has led two expansions that more than doubled capacity and amenities. She led a $5M capital campaign as well as a rebrand to reflect expanding mission and reach. Pam served on the Ronald McDonald House Charities Global Advisory Board, and on an ad hoc RMHC impact-study team. Pam has served the greater community as Delaware Association of Nonprofit Agencies Board Chair; Delaware State Chamber of Commerce Superstars in Business Committee Chair and Small Business Alliance Board of Managers Co-Chair; Delaware Fund for Women Founder, Secretary and Board Chair; Rotary Club of Wilmington President; and a Delaware Community Foundation Board member. As a JLW Sustainer, she has served as both Sustainer Advisor to the President and Sustainer Director on the Board. Pam's leadership has been recognized with her selection as a SmartCEO magazine Brava! Women Business Achievement Award winner and Brava! Hall of Fame member; a 2019 Delaware Today/Delaware Business Times Women in Business honoree and the 2023 Delaware State Chamber of Commerce Gilman Bowl recipient. In 2024 Pam was chosen as USA TODAY's Delaware Woman of the Year, which recognizes women across the United States who have had a significant impact on their communities. Pam spent eight years of her youth living in Caracas, Venezuela, and returned to the United States to earn a bachelor of arts degree in psychology with a minor in business from Skidmore College. She previously resided in New York and Connecticut and has lived in Landenberg, Pennsylvania, with her husband, Doug, with whom she has three adult children – including JLW member Anna Cornforth Jansen – and four grandchildren, for 32 years.