Time + Talent Podcast (Tobi Johnson & Jennifer Bennett: Volunteer management experts)

Theresa Goebel-Menting founded and directs the We EmpowHer Women’s Empowerment Series, aimed at helping marginalized women and their families overcome challenges that may be holding them back from their true potential. This program provides mentorship, support, and education for women in the Fond du Lac community. Since its inception, Theresa has provided direct supervision to members of the committee, as well as direct mentorship to participants involved. 

In this interview, we chat with Theresa about how she made the decision to move a struggling program out of county government and into a private nonprofit. She shares the brave decisions she needed to make and how she has continued to evolve and grow the now 12-week Women’s Empowerment Series each year.

Theresa’s enthusiasm and determination are unstoppable and she shares her advice on how to remain resilient and strong, even through times of uncertainty.  If you need a dose of inspiration, don’t miss this episode!

To learn more about We EmpowHer and make a donation, visit:

• https://www.linkedin.com/company/we-empowher/
• https://www.instagram.com/weempowherfdl/
• https://www.facebook.com/weempowher

Watch “Unlock Your Shackles,” Theresa Menting’s TEDx Talk here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DR8jczqsbkQ

For More:

For more on how one organization transformed its strategy and made bold moves to evolve, check out the Time + Talent Podcast Episode 208: Transforming Your Volunteer Strategy from the Ground Up

Guest Bio: 

Theresa Goebel-Menting is a lifelong Fond du Lac resident, business owner, executive leader, mentor, educator, life coach, and professional performer. Most of all, throughout her work in Fond du Lac, Theresa has always been an advocate for marginalized populations, and is intentional in leveraging relationships within the community to help others.

Theresa founded and directed the Women’s Empowerment Series, a program that started through the Fond du Lac Department of Social Services. This program provides mentorship, support and education for women in the Fond du Lac community. Since its inception, Theresa has provided direct supervision to members of the committee, as well as direct mentorship to participants involved. Since that time, the organization has evolved into WeEmpowHer, offering year-round programming, resources, and opportunities for connection and fellowship.

Theresa is also founder and CEO of Sweet ‘N Easy Events, an organization that provides event planning and coordination services throughout the Fox Cities. Her company, Sweet ‘N Easy Events, was also named the 2018 Best Full-Service Wedding Planning & Decorating Company by Global Wedding Awards. In addition to Theresa’s numerous volunteer positions, she was nominated as a Young Professional Future 5 Award Winner, and was named one of Fond du Lac’s 2018 People of the Year. Theresa was also nominated as 2022 Woman of Achievement by Insight Magazine. Theresa is involved with many community organizations, such as serving on the Board of Directors with ASTOP and Life Enforcement. In 2019, Theresa was an esteemed TEDx speaker. Since then, she has joined the TEDx Fond du Lac Team.

Theresa’s passion for supporting, mentoring, educating, and advocating for others has been a cornerstone to her success in Fond du Lac and the greater state of Wisconsin.

You can reach Theresa on the following social media:

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/theresa-menting/

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/theresa_menting/

In 2018 NYC Service partnered with the Nonprofit Coordinating Committee to conduct a survey on nonprofit board diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) gaps, strategies, recommendations and resources.

The full report on their findings entitled What Lies Beneath: The State of NYC Nonprofit Board Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion can be found HERE. 

In this episode, Dabash Nagash joins us to talk about the survey, the report, and what they learned. She’ll discuss ways to put the results into action in Episode 109.

NYC Service really sees Board members and Board service as a key way that volunteers can share their time and talent and they convened the NYC Nonprofit Board Development Coalition. One of the priorities they identified was diversity, equity and inclusion. 

There are 5 big takeaways from the report:

1. NYC Boards are not adequately diverse, over 50% of respondents reported that Board members do not reflect the community being served.
2. Diversity, equity, and inclusion is agreed to be important, but it’s not being addressed effectively and organizations are not satisfied with their work in this direction.
3. Representation in leadership matters. More diverse Boards and executive leadership have more diversity, equity, and inclusion training.
4. Fear of change is pervasive on Boards, and complacency prevents Boards from taking action around diversity, equity, and inclusion.
5. Boards may be perpetuating harmful biases. While focusing on socio-economic policies like give/get may not prevent diversity on Boards on its own, it can be a factor.

In Part 2 Dabash discusses steps organizations can take to address some of these takeaways.

Guest Bio:

Dabash Negash

Chief of Staff

NYC Service, Office of the Mayor

Dabash Negash is the Chief of Staff at NYC Service, a division of the Office of the Mayor that builds partnerships to deepen and expand civic engagement through volunteer and service programs, creating sustainable change for our city’s greatest needs. Dabash oversees all of capacity building initiatives at NYC Service and recently published a report on Nonprofit Board Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in NYC last Fall, in partnership with Nonprofit New York. Prior to joining the Office of the Mayor, Dabash served as Deputy Director of the Fund for Public Advocacy, supported several political campaigns, and worked in the Obama Administration supporting operations.

You can find Dabash on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/dabash-negash-51a04882/

In Part 2 Dabash Negash from NYC Service shares ideas for starting a conversation and setting some goals and practices to help your organization understand and achieve better Board diversity, equity and inclusion.

If you missed Episode 108 you can hear her discuss the results and findings from their survey and report on Board diversity in New York City.

In Part 2 Dabash discusses ways to take action on addressing diversity, equity, and inclusion for Board members.

Dabash encourages everyone to use the data in their report as well as other similar reports like the 2019 Volunteer Management Progress Report. https://volpro.net/volunteer-management-progress-report/

ABCs of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

• Articulate a common language. Define terms around diversity, equity, and inclusion, including privilege and power, and decision-making imbalances.
• Build internal support to create change. Recruit champions, ambassadors, or advocates from the Board to influence the conversation. Communicate the ‘value-add’ of diverse Boards. And disrupt board complacency! Explain why the time to make changes is now.
• Create and implement strategic diversity, equity, and inclusion goals and practices. Determine what diversity, equity, and inclusion success look like for your organization? Establish specific and achievable goals so you can be accountable to your organization. Look holistically - not just at recruitment, but evaluate policies and practices that may limit diversity, equity, and inclusion.

To shift diversity, equity, and inclusion from a side priority to a core priority you need to revisit the goals and practices regularly. This isn’t something that just happens - it requires time, effort, and buy-in.

While these conversations can be challenging and difficult your organization will be stronger and better able to serve your community for taking these steps.

You can find the report and additional action ideas HERE. 

Guest Bio:

Dabash Negash

Chief of Staff

NYC Service, Office of the Mayor

Dabash Negash is the Chief of Staff at NYC Service, a division of the Office of the Mayor that builds partnerships to deepen and expand civic engagement through volunteer and service programs, creating sustainable change for our city’s greatest needs. Dabash oversees all of capacity building initiatives at NYC Service and recently published a report on Nonprofit Board Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in NYC last Fall, in partnership with Nonprofit New York. Prior to joining the Office of the Mayor, Dabash served as Deputy Director of the Fund for Public Advocacy, supported several political campaigns, and worked in the Obama Administration supporting operations.

You can find Dabash on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/dabash-negash-51a04882/

MuslimDepiction is a nonprofit that brings awareness and teaches about the diversity and culture of the Middle East. Through the help of volunteers and their newsletter, they spread the word about the nonprofit throughout America. They are also currently raising funds to build a school in Bali for over 60 students in preschool-kindergarten.

In this episode, Zainab shares how she has engaged volunteers to spread the word on their campuses, pass out flyers, print posters, advocate within their social and family circles, and get involved in their GoFundMe project.  She discusses how volunteering and charity are vital parts of the Muslim community’s focus on doing good deeds.

As a nonprofit founder and leader of volunteers, Zainab has faced many of the same challenges as her older counterparts. In our conversation, she shares how she has engaged a multi-generational group of volunteers - aged 15 to 40 - and how she approaches volunteers who aren’t performing to expectations.  If you have doubted the commitment and potential of youth and young adults, think again. Zainab’s story will make you rethink your point of view!

For More:

For more on how organizations are engaging volunteers to combat bias and racism, check out Time + Talent Podcast Episode 306: Quilting for Justice

Guest Bio: 

Welcome to MuslimDepiction, a nonprofit organization that strives to inform, support, and help Muslims around the world. Anyone is welcome to join and support us regardless of their religion or belief. We teach and inform about Islam and help break stereotypes regarding Muslims. We also bring awareness to multiple issues regarding Islamic nations through our social media and our articles page. 

Muslims are very underrepresented in many communities, which is why we provide a place for Muslims to help each other, support each other, and communicate. We teach and inform through our Instagram and articles page. We help donate and create projects also through our Instagram and website. As for communication, we provide a social network, discord, where people globally can get together to communicate. 

You can help support us through many means such as following us on our social platforms or donating towards one of our current ongoing projects. Thank you so much for all of your support and your time. We hope you enjoy your time here as we guide you through our mission! 

To get in touch, email muslimdepiction@gmail.com 

To learn more and make a donation, check out:

• muslimdepiction.carrd.co/ 
• https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-us-build-a-school-in-bali?qid=b85e34824c8010da72c9ed57ced8d123 

You can also find MulsimDEpiction on social media at:

Instagram - muslimdepiction

Lauren Black from the Social Justice Sewing Academy talks about the opportunity her organization had to completely rethink the way they engaged volunteers, and to launch an entirely new volunteer engagement strategy during a pandemic.

What do you do when a pandemic strikes and your organization’s mission is running workshops for kids and teens? You launch an entirely new strategy engaging individual skills-based volunteers - at least that’s what you do if you’re the Social Justice Sewing Academy!

Founded in 2017, the Social Justice Sewing Academy (SJSA) is a non-profit organization that aims to empower individuals to utilize textile art for personal transformation, community cohesion, and to begin the journey toward becoming an agent of social change. Prior to COVID-19, youth workshops and programs were at the core of the organization.Through a series of hands-on workshops in schools, prisons, and community centers across the country, SJSA used social justice and art education to bridge artistic expression with activism.  Many of our young artists made art that explored issues such as gender discrimination, mass incarceration, gun violence, and gentrification. The powerful imagery that youth created in cloth demonstrated their critique of issues plaguing their local and larger communities. These quilt blocks are then sent to volunteers around the world to embellish and embroider before being sewn together into quilts to be displayed in museums, galleries, and quilt shows across the country.

While youth programming remains at the heart of SJSA, the civil rights movement of 2020 and the concurrent COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted SJSA’s programming. Due to no longer being able to provide in-person programming and limited virtual youth workshops, SJSA launched a series of new initiatives to critically respond to the times, including the Remembrance Project. The Remembrance Project engages remote skills-based volunteers to create a quilt block to remember members of the community lost to violence.

Time + Talent co-host Jennifer Bennett is a volunteer with SJSA and she also shares her experience volunteering during the Summer of 2020 with the Remembrance Project.

For more information, visit https://www.sjsacademy.org/

To volunteer with SJSA and the Remembrance Project: https://www.sjsacademy.org/volunteer-form 

To view the Remembrance Project Gallery: https://www.instagram.com/sjsa_remembranceproject/

To see other SJSA Projects: https://www.instagram.com/sjsacademy/

To see and read about the block Jennifer created: https://www.instagram.com/p/CEsGjDyn_st/

To learn more about the Remembrance Project and the Stitching Stolen Lives book: https://www.sjsacademy.org/shop/p/stitching-stolen-lives

For More:

For more info on engaging skills-based volunteers, check out Season 2 of the Time + Talent Podcast, Episode #206 Strengthening the Impact of Young Professional Volunteers.

Guest Bio:

Lauren Black
Executive Director
Social Justice Sewing Academy

Lauren Black is the Executive Director of the Social Justice Sewing Academy (SJSA). Lauren currently works as a School Psychologist in the Los Angeles Unified School District. She recently completed her Masters in Educational Psychology and her Education Specialist Degree in School Psychology at Loyola Marymount University. 

She is passionate about tackling issues that disempower people and erase their voices based on elements of their identity. In working with SJSA, Lauren fights against marginalization, systemic oppression, and underrepresentation through education, outreach, and collaboration.

You can find Lauren Black at lauren@sjsacademy.com.

Elena Laguna of Oxfam shares how her organization navigated openings and closings of their retail shops due to COVID, which are the primary source of unrestricted funding for the organization’s work, all while maintaining a sense of community amongst their volunteers. Oxfam is an international non-governmental organization working with others to challenge inequality, overcome poverty and work with people to thrive, not just survive. For over 75 years, Oxfam has led a movement of people dedicated to ending extreme poverty.

The organization works with over 18,000 volunteers annually in their network of approximately 600 local charity shops, at festivals and special events, and as part of fundraising campaigns.

In March 2020 Oxfam was forced to close its shops In order to keep communities safe from COVID transmission.This meant that thousands of volunteers could not come into work and one of the organization’s main sources of unrestricted funding was virtually eliminated overnight.

As a result, Oxfam quickly pivoted to offering online shopping and doubled down on their commitment to and investment in, supporting their volunteers.The COVID pandemic has also accelerated their digital transformation.

In this interview, Elena shares the ups and downs of their work, “not for volunteers, but with volunteers.” She shares how they maintained a sense of community amongst their volunteers using a variety of technology tools and how volunteers are the “X-factor” in everything they do. 

For more information on Oxfam, their key impact areas, their network of shops, and how to get involved visit https://www.oxfam.org.uk/ or follow them on Facebook @oxfamGB or Instagram @oxfamgb.

You can find out more about volunteering, visit - https://www.oxfam.org.uk/get-involved/volunteer-with-us/

Or, find a local shop here - https://www.oxfam.org.uk/shops/.

For More:

For more info on how organizations can build community online, check out Season 2 of the Time + Talent podcast, Episode 204: Building Community Together - Online and During a Pandemic.

Guest Bio:

Elena Laguna
Head of Volunteering, Oxfam Great Britain
Trustee, Peer Power Youth

Elena is a volunteering and learning specialist and she believes in social action as a powerful tool for civic engagement within society.

She has successfully performed various volunteer management roles which have spanned local areas as well as national ones across the UK, allowing her to work with organizations of different sizes and form partnerships across diverse communities and cultures.

Elena has an interest in building high-quality volunteering programmes with volunteer impact and engagement at their core. She started in the charity sector as a young volunteer and is now passionate about providing an exceptional volunteer management service to every stakeholder.

She is currently Head of Volunteer Engagement at Oxfam Great Britain and a Trustee at Peer Power Youth and has experience in developing new digital models, innovative strategies and approaches to engaging volunteers.

Show Notes:

During the height of COVID, CASA of San Joaquin County faced the fact that over 1500 children from the County were living in foster care. These abused and neglected children had been removed from their families and placed in foster homes, group homes (now called STRTPs), or even at our county's homeless shelter. To address this challenge, CASA connects children and youth living in foster care with a community volunteer who makes an 18-24 month commitment to advocate and mentor them.

When Dani started with CASA in October of 2021, she was given a bold goal to recruit 42 community members from diverse walks of life. To follow through on this commitment, she was able to not only reach her goal but surpass it. Through the smart use of social media and focused outreach, she was able to attract a diverse and multi-generational group of volunteers dedicated to helping youth navigate the court system.

In this episode, Dani shares her recipe for effective social media and how she overcame her anxiety around making cold calls (don’t we all have that?!). In the end, it’s all about staying true to your mission and communicating your passion for those you serve in a compassionate and accessible way. Dani shows us how it’s done with grace and focus!

Learn more about the work of CASA and how you can help at:

• www.nochildabuse.org/casa
• https://www.linkedin.com/company/casa-of-san-joaquin-county/
• https://www.facebook.com/CASAsanjoaquincounty
• https://www.instagram.com/casaofsjcounty/

For More:

For more on how another organization approached diversifying their volunteer team, check out Time + Talent Podcast Episode 108: The Rewards & Challenges of Nonprofit Board Diversity - Part 1 and Episode 109: The Rewards & Challenges of Nonprofit Board Diversity - Part 2

Guest Bio:

Dani Daly is the Recruiter/Trainer for CASA of San Joaquin County. As an educator and a mother, Dani noticed the needs of children living in the foster care system. Dani noticed that the students she worked closely with, as well as the friends of her two school-aged children, who resided in foster care, often felt alone having few adults who were in their lives who weren't being paid to be there. 

After years of working in education, Dani joined CASA of San Joaquin County to make a difference in the lives of children in foster care. Dani works diligently to recruit San Joaquin County citizens to join the CASA organization and is passionate about diversifying the pool of volunteers to more closely represent our county's youth in foster care.

You can reach Dani on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielle-daly-55292198/

And via email at ddaly@nochildabuse.org

Season 4 of the Time + Talent Podcast is here and we're finally caught up! Tobi and Jennifer are back with a second season of the year. We generally post one season per year; however Season 3 was posted earlier this year - having been delayed by COVID.

Now, Tobi and Jenimfer are back on track to share innovative and inspirational stories from practitioners in the field of nonprofit volunteer and community engagement.

The good news is that nonprofits are building back from COVID and a global pandemic and welcoming volunteers back to service. In this season, we spotlight organizations that made the best of the challenges posed by lockdowns and came out stronger and more resilient because of them. In some cases, leaders of volunteers are continuing initiatives they started in the pandemic that continue to have an impact on those who serve and those who benefit from these fresh ways of thinking and doing.

It’s a testament to the dedication and creativity of volunteer managers around the world and the volunteers who were willing to roll up their sleeves and dive in, even in the face of uncertainty.

This season would not have been possible without the generosity of our guests who were willing to share their journeys with our audience. We thank each and every one of them for joining us to share their time and talent.

We hope you enjoy Season 4 - please take a moment to subscribe, rate, and review. This helps us reach a wider audience of professionals just like you who may be in need of a little inspiration and good news. 

For More:

For overviews of our past season kick-off episodes, check out Episode 101: Welcome to the T+T Podcast - Bold Practices in Volunteer Engagement, Episode 201: Welcome to Season 2, and Episode 301: Welcome to Season 3!

Guest Contact and Follow Up Info:

Websites: 

https://volpro.net/

https://tobijohnson.com/

https://www.volunteermatch.org/

https://learn.volunteermatch.org/

LinkedIn: 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/tobijohnsonconsultant/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-bennett-cva/

Oasis Institute is the largest intergenerational K-3 mentoring program in the nation with 83 school districts and 4000 tutors. The average volunteer is a 72-year-old woman - many are former teachers, moms, grandmas, or others who have worked with children. They volunteer for an hour a week, and with an average tenure of 17 years. All tutoring took place in person before COVID-19 required a pivot.

With shelter-in-place, they had to reinvent their whole program. Elizabeth worked to understand what volunteers wanted to do, what the school’s policies were, and what might work moving forward. She invited volunteers to come to the table with solutions with how they might feel comfortable continuing to mentor children through distance learning.

By prioritizing safely and inclusion Elizabeth was able to pivot her volunteer engagement strategy to work for both the students and the tutors. She included zoom training for the volunteers that wanted to participate and created a communication plan to keep in touch with the volunteers that didn’t feel comfortable moving to an online platform.

Over the summer, they launched a pilot program with several local libraries and were able to evaluate what worked and where they would continue to innovate to launch their program for the school year.

If you are interested in learning more about Oasis and their Intergenerational Tutoring Program, visit their website at https://tutoring.oasisnet.org/or follow them on Facebook and Twitter @OasisInstitute

If you want to reach out directly to Elizabeth, email her at epawloski@oasisnet.org.  You can also find Elizabeth on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethpawloski/

Guest Bio:

Elizabeth Pawloski, CVA
National Director Tutoring Partnerships and Expansion
The Oasis Institute

In her current role with Oasis, Elizabeth is responsible for the expansion of the Intergenerational Tutoring Program into new markets and the administration of the Senior Corps-RSVP federal grants. Elizabeth came to Oasis in 2014 with over 25 years of Volunteer Management experience. Elizabeth previously served as the Director of Volunteer Services at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and Assistant Director of Membership Services for the Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri. Elizabeth has served as the President of the Metropolitan Volunteer Management Association, member of the United Way Volunteer Center Certification Committee and the University of Missouri System Administrative Leadership Development Program.  She is a certified Volunteer Administrator and a prior recipient of the St. Louis Volunteer Director of the Year Award.

Her Bachelor of Science Degree is in Business Administration from the University of Missouri - Columbia and she has completed post-graduate work towards a Master of Education degree in Counseling from the University of Missouri - St. Louis. 

She is passionate about volunteerism, intergenerational relationships, and being kind to others.

For More:

For more info on how organizations manage virtual volunteer engagement, check out Season 1 of the Time + Talent podcast, Episode 107: Digital Team Building with Remote Volunteers.

Kara McLaughlin of Mesa Community Action Network shares how “career volunteers” play a pivotal role in guiding her agency’s program development and how they grow their leadership pipeline by fostering a welcoming culture and by integrating volunteers into operations at every level.

A New Leaf is a nonprofit organization, providing a broad spectrum of support services to help individuals & families in need. Whether it be the loss of a job, a medical crisis, domestic violence, homelessness, or another crisis, A New Leaf is here to help households recover and thrive.

A New Leaf is a certified Service Enterprise organization, welcoming the presence of community partners in its efforts to deliver on its mission of Helping Families, Changing Lives. As integral members of our team, volunteers experience meaningful work while contributing to enhanced services, renewed energy, and increased community awareness.

The volunteer program has been limited to new volunteers throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. They have limited volunteer involvement to critical need areas, and only where they can operate safely. Existing volunteers working at A New Leaf programs continue to operate under program guidelines.

Despite the impact of the pandemic on operations volunteers continue to be involved in pivotal decision-making roles throughout the organization.  

In this episode, Kara shares how her organization has strategically leveraged volunteers in order to do more with less, not only in direct service roles but also in leadership and program development.

Kara discusses the power of the “career volunteer,” or those that contribute significant hours each month to their cause of choice, and notes that they are available to help in every community.  Organizations simply need to connect with them to tap this valuable resource.

For more information, visit https://www.turnanewleaf.org/about/.

For More:

For more info on growing volunteer leaders, check out Season 1 of the Time + Talent podcast, Episode 106: Designing a Leadership Pipeline for 23,000 Volunteers.

Guest Bio:

Kara McLaughlin, B.A.E.
Sr. Volunteer Financial Coach/Educator
Mesa Community Action Network

Kara McLaughlin, who is a graduate of Arizona State University is an experienced “career volunteer” serving the non-profit industry through budget counseling, education, program development, volunteer community leadership, and emergency financial services since 1988.  A long time community servant and an ardent supporter of volunteer service.

Born in the Midwest, Kara moved to Arizona with her family in second grade and married her junior high sweetheart Phil McLaughlin in 1986. Together they have three amazing young adult children and two beagles. 

Kara followed her husband across the globe as a Navy wife for 26 years beginning her volunteer career helping other Navy spouses. After discovering her teaching certification wasn’t valid at new duty stations and working for a non-profit, Kara began taking on numerous volunteer roles for Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society, Boy Scouts of America, Churches, music groups, and more. 

Although her intent was to resume her career once Phil left the Navy, Kara discovered upon Phil’s retirement that she did have a career, that of a volunteer. After moving back to Arizona, she joined A New Leaf as a volunteer and has served as an IDA Assistant, Lead Volunteer Financial Coach & Educator, and now serves as their Organization Volunteer Chair. 

Kara realizes she is blessed to be able to donate her time and talents which fits her family’s priorities best with the Volunteer benefits package of flexibility. 

You can find Kara at kmclaughlin@turnanewleaf.org and on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/kara-mclaughlin-68867579/.

Show Notes:

Nicolle Lee from Voya Financial joins us to pull back the curtain and share her company's employee volunteer program's strategies. Voya Financial has just seen an increase in participation in their volunteer events they've also discovered additional benefits to deploying employees as volunteers in the community.

In the past, Voya Financial’s Employee Volunteer Program was similar to many - legacy events that were uninspired and unfocused. But not anymore. Voya decided to re-energize their EVP by focusing on completing activities that directly support their purpose to help “All Americans Retire Better.” 

Voya Financial also ensured that senior leadership was invested and involved in supporting, sponsoring, and participating in EVP activities. And the new Chief Diversity & Corporate Responsibility Officer and Foundation President ensured that Key Performance Indicators for the EVP were reported up to the Board of Trustees level to create even more accountability across all levels of the organization.

Initially, there was concern that these projects and events weren’t adding to productivity but in fact, Voya Financial has found the opposite to be true. Colleagues meet others through these informal events and are now collaborating across business practices and feel more connected so projects and priorities are easier to accomplish.

Focusing on the metrics and KPIs has also allowed Voya Financial Employees to understand how their work is so important, and they can feel good about giving back. It has helped employees see the value of the work they do with clients so they are prepared for retirement so they don’t need to depend on safety net programs. And, they’ve had 98% participation across their 6,000 employees.

During the Spring and Summer during the COVID-19 pandemic, Voya employees continued their work supporting the social safety net organizations like Meals on Wheels and Habitat for Humanity.

For nonprofit organizations, it is important to find corporate partners that share your same commitment to the community. While nonprofits rely on volunteers from corporations, those volunteers have an opportunity to learn about the needs of the community and to help meet those needs through their volunteer activities.

Learn more about Voya’s corporate responsibility employee engagement practices: https://corporate.voya.com/corporate-responsibility/community-investment/employee-engagement

Guest Bio:

Nicolle Lee
Manager, Strategic Projects
Voya Financial

Nicolle Lee is a Transformation Manager at Voya Financial, where she also leads the corporate volunteering efforts for the New York office. Previously, she was an Associate on Voya’s Corporate Strategy team and developed Voya’s long-term strategy.

She serves as co-Chair of Habitat for Humanity NYC’s Young Professionals board and is passionate about issues at the intersection of finance, real estate, and public policy in order to build healthier communities.

Nicolle is currently pursuing graduate degrees at the Harvard Kennedy School (MPP) and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania (MBA), where she is a Jay Knowles MBA Fellow studying real estate investing. She will graduate in Spring 2023.

For More:

If you are interested in more on Habitat for Humanity NYC’s Young Professionals group, check out Season 2 of the Time + Talent podcast, Episode 206: Strengthening the Impact of Young Professional Volunteers.

That’s not a typo – the New York Roadrunners, the organization that plans running events including the New York City Marathon, engages 23,000 volunteers a year. Erika Amaya joins us to talk about how she couldn’t make that happen without volunteer leaders.

As the manager of a “mega program” that engages over 23,000 volunteers a year, volunteer leadership is critical.  But, in recent years, the New York Road Runners found they were losing the legacy volunteers they had counted on for so many years due to volunteer retirements.  So, they took action and revamped their volunteer leadership training and development program.

They started with the end in mind, planning for three years out and focusing their approach on trials and iteration. They gathered feedback from volunteers and event coordinators, defined roles more concretely, and developed a ‘core mile captain’ training, and added more social elements to the volunteer experience. It took them five years to refine their work into a standardized leadership development program and succession pipeline for their race captains. Now, they begin recruitment for the next year the day after a race, and enjoy a full complement of volunteer leaders who help them run this large initiative.

According to Erika “anxiety is just another barrier to entry.”  So, they took concrete steps to reduce the anxiety of the service experience by focusing on clear communications and “making the assumed explicit.”

If you are interested in volunteer opportunities with the New York Road Runners, visit https://nyrr.org/getinvolved/volunteer. If you have questions, you can reach out directly to volunteers@nyrr.org.

You can connect with them on Facebook: @NewYorkRoadRunners, Twitter: @nyrr, and Instagram: @nyrr and with the social tags: #nyrrvols #teamnyrr #tcsnycmarathon.

Guest Bio:

Erika Amaya

Senior Manager, Volunteer Operations (former)

New York Road Runners

Erika Amaya is a passionate advocate for volunteer engagement and community resiliency. As the prevoius senior manager of volunteer operations for New York Road Runners, she oversaw 23,000 volunteers annually. NYRR hosts the largest marathon in the world, the TCS New York City Marathon, which engages 10,000 volunteers on race day.

Erika presented at the Running USA industry conference about retaining and recruiting volunteers and at the National Council for Safety in Spector Sports Marathon Summit about training volunteers for the least expected. In 2017 she founded the Race Volunteer Managers Collective, with Mary Miller of the Boston Athletic Association, which invites race organizers to join quarterly calls to share best practices and key learnings.

Prior to joining the New York Road Runners Erika coordinated adult volunteers to mentor middle and high school students in leadership for Florida YMCA Youth In Government. She still volunteers on their organizing committee and celebrated her 11th year as a graduate advisor this past February.

Erika can also be found on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/erikaamaya/.

During Faiza’s work with volunteers, she has radically shifted how she sees her role and the work of leading and engaging volunteers. Initially, she focused on the processes - ensuring that her work, the work of onboarding and managing volunteers, was systematic and thorough. But now she sees her role as an internal consultant and facilitator to help ensure that others in the organization are successfully engaging and building relationships with volunteers. 

Faiza shares how the YMCA of Greater Toronto - the largest provider of childcare services in the Metro Area - has implemented this strategy. And, as she now sees that those processes and systems may actually limit or prevent volunteering, she has shifted to a more spontaneous and open process. Faiza also views her work as a type of activism - bring more people to volunteering as well as opening up roles to a more diverse population of potential volunteers.

While her work at the YMCA of Greater Toronto is important, Faiza’s own story and the journey she’s taken to shift her own mindset about the work of volunteer engagement and her role is just as important. By focusing on supporting, preparing, and inspiring others to engage volunteers she has moved her role from one of execution to one of leadership. Included in this work is the need to overcome prejudices and biases. Faiza has leveled the playing field for volunteers in her organization by exploring lived experiences and discussing what’s helping and what’s getting in the way. 

And this work paid off during the beginnings of the COVID-19 pandemic as the YMCA was able to adapt and adjust because of the groundwork Faiza had started well before the pandemic. 

You can learn more about how Faiza advocates for leaders of volunteers on the CCVA webpage and you can contact her on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/faizavenzant/.

Guest Bio:

Faiza Venzant CVA, CVRM
General Manager, Volunteer Development
YMCA Greater Toronto

From a young age, Faiza Venzant's parents instilled a strong sense of volunteerism in herself and her two older brothers. They, as immigrants to Canada from Uganda in the early 70s made a successful transition into Canadian life with the help of many generous volunteers. A volunteer herself from a very young age, she has been a champion for volunteer engagement for the last 20 years speaking, facilitating and continually learning from others internationally. 

She is currently Executive Director with the Council for Certification in Volunteer Administration and General Manager, Volunteer Development at the YMCA of Greater Toronto.  Faiza maintains her CVA and CVRM certifications in the field of volunteer engagement.

Faiza is an active member and volunteer of the Toronto Association for Volunteer Administrators (TAVA), Volunteer Management Professionals of Canada (VMPC),  Professional Association of Volunteer Leaders – Ontario (PAVR-O and Association for Leaders in Volunteer Engagement (AL!VE.)

In 2020, Faiza was the recipient of TAVA’s Innovation Award.  In 2019, she was the recipient of the inaugural IMPACT award in Canada for Exemplary Volunteer Leadership. From PAVR-O, she received the Linda Buchanan Award in 2013 and has twice received their President's Award.  

For More: For more on how other leaders have re-designed their roles to evolve and empower others, check out Season 1 of the Time + Talent podcast, Episode 106: Designing a Leadership Pipeline for 23,000 Volunteers.

In 2021, during the pandemic, Holden Forests and Gardens began work on the foundation components for their volunteer engagement strategy. One of those efforts was a volunteer-led task force to redevelop their Volunteer Handbook.

In this episode, Tracee Patterson Associate Director of Volunteer and Employee Engagement, Sarah Hartley Manager of Volunteer Resources, and Patrick Biliter Volunteer Handbook Review Task Force Team Leader share the work they did to evaluate and redesign their Volunteer Handbook.

After reviewing Handbooks from other organizations they created a digital document that focuses on supporting and engaging volunteers in the work of the organization. They wanted it to be useful for new volunteers as well as ongoing volunteers, and that the document would reflect the beauty of their forests and gardens.

They also wanted it to foster a shared culture and engage volunteers deeply in the work of the organization. Patrick shares their goals, and the steps they took as a volunteer-led task force including their first step of Appreciative Inquiry and the Group Meeting Rules.

You can learn more about that process in their Volunteer Resources Annual Report for FY20201.

While they had a strong foundation for the work that needed to be done, they did run into some challenges, including the work taking longer than planned. They were able to launch their QuickStart Guide for New Volunteers first, and on time, and follow that up with the full paperless, digital handbook. You are welcome to visit and explore their final product!

For More:

For more information on inviting volunteers to lead changes within your organization check out Season 2 of the Time + Talent Podcast, Episode 205: Digital Transformation as the New Normal - Moving Mentoring Online.

Guest Bio:

Tracee Patterson Associate Director of Volunteer and Employee Engagement

Tracee Patterson is the Associate Director of Volunteer & Employee Engagement at Holden Forests & Gardens. Her prior work in volunteerism involved administrative and teaching positions at John Carroll University and Kent State University, where she coordinated service-learning programming and taught service-based classes for students. Tracee enjoys volunteering for other environmental organizations as well as for social justice causes she is passionate about. Tracee was the recipient of the 2020 Volunteer Administrator of the Year Award, presented annually by the Forum for Volunteer Administrators in Northeast Ohio. She lives in northeast Ohio and enjoys hiking, kayaking, bicycling and yoga. 

Sarah Hartley, CVA Manager of Volunteer Resources

Sarah Hartley is currently the Manager of Volunteer Resources for Holden Forests & Gardens in the Cleveland, OH area, where she has worked since 2015. Before moving to Ohio, she spent eleven years as a volunteer coordinator at The Salvation Army Northern Division in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area spending a lot of time on their bell ringing volunteer program and various volunteer management systems. Sarah received her certification in volunteer administration (CVA) in 2019, and she has been working in the field of volunteer management since 2003 when she earned her Mini-MBA in Volunteer Management from the University of St. Thomas Center of Nonprofit Management.

Patrick Biliter Volunteer Handbook Review Task Force Team Leader

To avoid becoming a third-generation eastern Kentucky coal miner, Pat Biliter became a geologist instead, pursuing his studies at The Ohio State University, U.C.L.A., and the University of Utah.  Most children go through rock and bug collecting phases, but Pat never grew out of his.  His great passions in life include books, landforms, wildlife, blue-tick fox hounds, and his wife of 53 years, not necessarily in that order.  He spent his career and most of his adult life working in some 34 foreign countries in environmental remediation, disaster relief and military construction.  Upon retiring and returning to the United States, Pat began volunteering at Holden Forests & Gardens, the perfect venue for sharing his love of the outdoors and natural history with adults and children of all ages.

Contact the Team: volunteer@holdenfg.org

Contact Tracee at tpatterson@holdenfg.org

Contact Sarah at shartley@holdenfg.org.

Contact Patrick at pbiliter@hotmail.com

Website: https://holdenfg.org/

Tobi Johnson, President & Founder of VolunteerPro, and Jennifer Bennett, Director, Education and Training at VolunteerMatch talk about the Season 3 themes and their thoughts on how leaders of volunteers are continuing to adapt and evolve to engaging volunteers during the ongoing pandemic.

Season 3 of the Time + Talent Podcast is finally here! Tobi and Jennifer are back to share exciting and inspirational stories from practitioners in the field of volunteer management. We didn’t think we’d still be talking about COVID and a global pandemic in 2022, but we are, and this season highlights the organizations that are not just surviving, but thriving as they learn to engage volunteers in this new environment. We don’t like to say pandemic silver linings - but we are excited to share stories from leaders of volunteers that used the pandemic as an opportunity to get creative, dig deeper into their organization’s mission, and tap into the time and talent of all kinds of volunteers - including the National Guard! This season wouldn’t have been possible without our guests sharing their time and talent and we want to thank each and every one of them for joining us on this journey.

We hope you enjoy Season 3 - please take a moment to subscribe, rate, and review. And if you, or someone you know, has an inspirational story about volunteer engagement we want to hear about it! Submit your story on the Be a Guest page on or website -https://www.timeandtalentpod.com/ - and we may feature you in Season 4.

For More:

To see how far we’ve come, check out the Time + Talent Podcast Season 1, Episode 101, and Season 2, Episode 201.

Host Bios:

Tobi Johnson
President and Founder
Tobi Johnson and Associates | VolunteerPro

Time + Talent co-host Tobi Johnson is an internationally sought after expert, consultant, and master trainer in volunteer engagement. She is known for her modern thought leadership, highly practical evidence-based strategies, and innovative, “big hat” thinking around engaging, supporting, and acknowledging the work of volunteers.

A native of the Pacific Northwest, Tobi is a graduate of the University of Washington and has a Masters degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She now lives in East Tennessee with her husband and feline office assistant, Bailey.

Jennifer Bennett
Director, Education and Training
VolunteerMatch 

Time + Talent co-host Jennifer Bennett believes that the most creative volunteer engagement happens on top of a strong foundation, and that all volunteers should be engaged in meaningful work. She relies on her current role leading and engaging volunteers to ensure that the thought-leadership, trainings, and resources she designs meet the needs of today’s volunteer engagement professionals.

Jennifer grew up, and still lives, in the San Francisco Bay Area, and she attended Randolph-Macon Woman’s College in Lynchburg, VA.

Metrocrest Services in the greater Dallas Area provides food and support services to 600-800 clients a week. Food Pantry, Rides, Home Repair, Consignment Store, Ambassador - social media, represent MCS in the community.

While they had a diverse clientele, volunteers came from the surrounding suburbs and didn’t reflect the diverse community they served. Brittni really wanted volunteers to better reflect the community as well as inspire the next generation of volunteers. The community is beginning to gentrify but there are still needs. Brittni shares her personal story to educate volunteers, and there’s no judgment - the ability to volunteer is equitable.

Brittni treats everyone with dignity and respect and is shifting who a volunteer is. She has created opportunities for neurodiverse volunteers of all ages, court-ordered volunteers, intergenerational opportunities, and is actively recruiting Xennials.

You can access Brittni’s COVID-19 Checklist here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VPfBxjg_NUB7BxCjKEzzR3yjwBGZ9ucG/view

To contact Brittni you can find her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brittni-coe-607a151b7/

Guest Bio:

Brittni Coe
Volunteer Manager
Metrocrest Services

Brittni Coe has been an active volunteer for most of her life.  She caught the service bug early during her twelve years as a Girl Scout, and through her service in the AmeriCorps National Service Program. For the past three years, Brittni has worked as the Volunteer Manager for Metrocrest Services in Texas. There she has been responsible for recruitment, training, and retention of the more than 5,000 volunteers who donate their time to help Metrocrest Services fulfill its mission of building a stronger community together. 

Brittni holds a bachelor's degree with concentrations in Sociology and Women's Studies from Texas Woman's University and holds a certificate for Non-Profit Management from the Center for Non-Profit Management in Texas.  She is passionate about doing her part to ' repair the world' by promoting volunteerism and sparking the passion to give back in others. 

For More:

If you’re interested in more on the benefits of treating volunteers with dignity and respect check out Season 1 of the Time + Talent podcast, Episode 201: Putting Volunteer Wellness first with Megan Vixie. 

Sara Bumgarner, Volunteer Services Manager and RSVP Director of the Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) of the Treasure Coast shares how her organization re-purposed use of a simple online device to help volunteers and patients stay connected during COVID.

The VNA of the Treasure Coast was founded over 40 years ago with the distinct mission of fulfilling the need to provide homecare for local residents of Indian River County, Florida.The VNA operates Hospice House, a 12-room state of the art facility privately nestled on hospital grounds, Hidden Treasures Thrift Stores to help fund hospice services, and offers private home care services which include transportation, personal care and clinical care.

The organization’s work is carried out by close to 400 clinical and administrative staff.  In addition, volunteers are at the heart of the VNA and are a key resource to the agency. More than 400 dedicated individuals generously donate their time and talent to assist in various aspects of the VNA. They interact with patients, help out at VNA Hospice House, provide assistance around the office and thrift stores.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, VNA was forced to discontinue in-person volunteer roles. Instead, they implemented a virtual visit program, where volunteers could keep in touch with their patients using a virtual tablet called a GrandPad (https://www.grandpad.net/). The tool was initially developed to keep families and seniors connected through a super simple interface. The use was repurposed to connect volunteers and homebound patients.

For more information, visit VNA of the Treasure Coast - https://www.vnatc.com/.

You can connect with Sara at sbumgarner@vnatc.com.

For More:

For more info on helping older volunteers adopt new technology, check out Season 2 of the Time + Talent podcast, Episode 205: Digital Transformation as the New Normal - Moving Mentoring Online.

Guest Bio:

Sara D. Bumgarner, CVA
Volunteer Services Manager and RSVP Director
Visiting Nurse Association of the Treasure Coast

Sara has worked in the non-profit field for 28 years, the last 15 years managing volunteers. She earned her certified in Volunteer Administration (CVA) credential in October of 2020.

She has been working for ten years at current organization, VNA of the Treasure Coast, six of those as the Volunteer Manager and the last two as Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) Director. She currently oversees 450 volunteers for VNA, the bulk of whom are hospice volunteers.

MobileServe helps groups like schools - from elementary to college - and companies connect with nonprofits to access service learning opportunities.

They also allow those groups to gather information and feedback from the students and employees participating. Kevin Bauman joins us to talk about what they’ve learned by reviewing the information they’ve collected around impact.

For volunteers - whether they’re students or adults - volunteering can offer the opportunity to make an impact, but that message doesn’t always get clearly delivered.

MobileServe has found that asking volunteers to reflect on their experience in some way before they return back to their classrooms or offices can make a big impact on the connection a volunteer feels to the work they did. 

Questions like “How did your service make you feel?” are a good start, but asking additional questions like “What challenged you?” or “What did you learn about the organization?” can invite volunteers to think a little more about their experience.

You can read more about this on Mobile Serve’s blog on the insights: https://blog.mobileserve.com/the-science-of-top-reflection-questions

While these are best practices for creating a connection with service learning volunteers, Kevin also shares how this type of reflection can be incorporated into working with adult volunteers, as well as a strategy to create a connection and form a stronger relationship with newer volunteers or volunteers that join your organization for single-day events.

Even just a few minutes at the end of a shift or event where volunteers can gather to talk about their experiences and the work they’ve done can go a long way toward creating a stronger connection to your organization and its mission.

You can learn more about the Service Learning Reflection Toolkit mentioned here: https://www.gtc.edu/sites/default/files/files/documents/Service_Learning_Reflection_Toolkit.pdf 

To learn more about MobileServe visit https://mobileserve.com/

And you can find MobileServe on social media @MobileServeApp

For More:

For more on service learning and creating connections with student volunteers check out Season 1, Episode 103 Key Lessons from Seven Years on Intern Iterations

Guest Bio:

Kevin Bauman is the Director of Community Development at MobileServe, a firm that helps connect volunteers to service opportunities and report the impact service organizations have in our communities.

He brings a passion for community building and 20 years of experience in not-for-profit technology solutions. He holds a conviction that technology can provide the necessary advantages for nonprofits and service organizations to meet aggressive goals with often limited resources.

Kevin earned a BS from the University of Texas at Austin and an Executive MBA from the University of Kentucky.

You can reach Kevin at kevin@mobileserve.org or on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinbauman/

Kelly Furnas of Operation Kindness shares her professional journey from Director of Volunteer Services to Chief Operating Officer in less than two years and the leadership mindset and actions that made this path possible. Founded in 1976, Operation Kindness is a pioneer in North Texas for providing assistance to animals in need of medical care, companionship, and a home. In addition to pet adoptions, they provide extensive medical care for animals, a foster program, a pet food pantry, a surrender prevention program, education to pet parents and volunteer opportunities.

And, the pandemic has not slowed them down. They have engaged over 11,000 volunteers since the start and regularly have about 1,600-1,800 volunteers active.

Kelly was initially hired as the director of Volunteer Services in October 2019.  But she was quickly promoted to Director of Operations in January 2021, and then Chief Operating Officer in July 2021.  It’s been a whirlwind ride, but Kelly is well grounded in what it takes to succeed as a leader.

In this episode, she shares how her organization has maintained close connections with volunteers during COVID through a smart communications strategy. 

She also shares advice for volunteer managers who want to advance their careers and offers practical tips on how to frame the volunteer work so it gets noticed and how to effectively ask for resources and support.

For more information, visit https://www.operationkindness.org/.

For More:

For more info on developing your leadership skills, check out Season 2 of the Time + Talent podcast, Episode 206: Strengthening the Impact of Young Professional Volunteers.

Guest Bio:

Kelly Furnas
Chief Operating Officer
Operation Kindness

Kelly Furnas became Chief Operating Officer of Operation Kindness in July 2021, following her roles as Director of Operations and Volunteer Services in recent years.

She has been involved with OPK since 2015. As COO, her goals include

helping Operation Kindness have the largest impact on life saving in North Texas, enhancing her team’s skills, and finding process improvements that allow them to save more lives. 

Previously, she worked in various senior leadership and operation roles in the financial services industry before finding her dream job with Operation Kindness. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from Texas A&M University. 

At home, Kelly loves spending time with her cat, Smokey (an Operation Kindness alumni),and her dog Quinn. As an A&M grad, you will find her rooting for her Aggies during every game. She also loves to cook and even acted as a judge in a local cooking competition!

You can find Kelly atkelly@operationkindness.org and on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelly-furnas/.

The Huron River Watershed Council’s internship initiative addresses a trifecta of community needs, intern needs, and agency needs. Jason Frenzel - Volunteer & Stewardship Coordinator - is taking an iterative approach to its design and his approach has evolved over the years to become ever more aligned with the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) goals for the organization.

In addition, the internship program contributes to growing future scientists and community members that will become ambassadors and continue to advocate for the health of the watershed.  Internships also forge strong alliances with local educational institutions.

He recommends that colleagues who want to start or improve intern engagement perform a SWOT Analysis of resources available in their area, so they know the assets they can work with; to make sure they are also creating contingency plans in case things don’t go as expected, and to plan for risk and liability issues for this special kind of community service.

Position descriptions for HRWC’s intern and volunteer roles can be found here https://www.hrwc.org/about/staff/jobs/.

If you want to learn more about the work of the Huron River Watershed Council, visit https://www.hrwc.org/.

You can also find Jason on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonfrenzel/.

Guest Bio:

Jason Frenzel

Volunteer & Stewardship Coordinator

Huron River Watershed Council

Jason has been a Manager of Volunteers since 2001 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. His work at the City of Ann Arbor and now the Huron River Watershed Council has given him the opportunity to oversee a wide array of volunteer programming. Jason plays a leadership role in many community initiatives where he has rounded out his experience managing and facilitating small and large groups. He is an advisor to his local volunteer managers network and was the president of the board of directors of AL!VE, the national association of Volunteer Managers. Jason has held his Certification in Volunteer Administration, an international accreditation for Volunteer Engagement Professionals, since 2009. He also served as a City Councilmember in Ann Arbor.

Elise Segars from Crisis Text Line shares her experience motivating, inspiring, and building relationships with volunteers that she never meets face to face. We talk about what’s worked, what wasn’t as successful, and how their recognition strategy is designed to ‘surprise and delight’ their volunteers.

At Crisis Text Line, volunteers must complete 30 hours of online training before they are certified to begin work as an online Crisis Counselor. Because Crisis Counselors live all around the U.S. and volunteer from their homes or work using the agency’s platform, Crisis Text Line has had to pay special attention to keeping far flung, virtual volunteers engaged.  They do this by assigning one-on-one Coaches and cultivating a vibrant online community that provides support and a good experience for Crisis Counselors even when their work can be stressful.

Recruitment and Admissions are important departments at Crisis Text Line, because their main focus is around finding strong Crisis Counselor candidates who will be successful in supporting texters. The exciting part of this is that there is no specific profile or characteristic that makes a volunteer successful as a Crisis Counselor, making Crisis Text Line's volunteer base extremely diverse across all demographics. “Clear is kind” is a motto they subscribe to, and they strive to be transparent about expectations for Crisis Counselors.

In terms of volunteer recognition, their goal is to “surprise and delight” their supporters and leave them with a positive feeling at the close of every shift.  This is done through tiers and an online badging system, public online shout outs, and swag mailed to volunteers. They want volunteers to feel as connected as possible to the organization and they are able to achieve this even though most volunteers and staff never meet face to face.

Anyone interested in learning more about volunteering with Crisis Text Line can visit their website at https://www.crisistextline.org/. Anyone who is in immediate need of support can text 741741 to get connected with a trained Crisis Counselor.

To help identify community trends, inform journalists and advocates, and better collaborate on crisis prevention, Crisis Text Line shares its data publicly. To browse aggregate trends in crisis around the U.S., go to https://crisistrends.org/.

Guest Bio:

Elise Segars, 

Head of Admissions & Coach,

Crisis Text Line

Elise Segars is the Head of Admissions and a Crisis Counselor Coach at Crisis Text Line. She started as a volunteer Crisis Counselor back in August of 2017, and has worked at the organization full time since January 2018. Her favorite part about working at Crisis Text Line is that she truly feels and witnesses the impact her work makes each day, and she is grateful to be working on the front lines of destigmatizing mental health and supporting people through their most difficult times. Elise has a Bachelors in Human Services and Psychology from Western Washington University, and she grew up in Boulder, CO.

If you want to reach out directly to Elise, you can email her at elise@crisistextline.org.  You can also find Elise on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/elise-segars-bb613476/.

Michele Wiesner of Hire Heroes USA shares how her organization was given an “edge” when it comes to engaging volunteers during a pandemic and how they have been growing capacity through remote volunteering since 2005.

Hire Heroes USA provides employment assistance services to thousands of transitioning military members each year. Through personalized service and support, they help veterans and military spouses get hired, and they help companies hire and retain them.

As the director of capacity building, Michele leads a team of six full-time volunteer program managers who are responsible for engaging and supporting volunteers in their regions. As opposed to many volunteer-driven organizations who’ve had to pivot to online volunteerism, Hire Heroes has always operated this way.  Some staff, however, have had to make the transition from working in an office to working from home.

Rather than making big changes during COVID, they had to make more subtle adjustments to their mature digital volunteer strategy.  And, staff have had to catch up with volunteers.

In this episode, Michele shares how her team has made pivots and how they managed their exponential growth (triple the number of volunteer applications during COVID!) by focusing on building relationships, offering meaningful roles to supporters, and remaining flexible in their approach.

For more information, visit https://www.hireheroesusa.org/ and all social channels @hireheroesusa.

To explore volunteer opportunities with Hire Heroes, visit https://www.hireheroesusa.org/volunteer/.

For More:

For more info on preparing and supporting a fully remote volunteer team, check out Season 1 of the Time + Talent podcast, Episode 107: Digital Team Building with Remote Volunteers.

Guest Bio:

Michele Wiesner
Director, Capacity Building
Hire Heroes USA

Michele Wiesner, Director of Capacity Building, is responsible for the growth, direction and results of service delivery support programs, including the Volunteer Program, Alumni Program and Referral and Training Partners Program. These support programs serve to increase organizational reach, influence, effectiveness and efficiency through partnerships and supporters. 

Michele earned a Master of Public Administration (MPA) from the University of Georgia, and she also holds a Certification in Volunteer Administration (CVA). Michele joined Hire Heroes USA full time in 2012 as the organization’s first Volunteer Coordinator, responsible for the creation of the Volunteer Program. She was promoted to Manager in 2013 and then to Director of the Volunteer Program in late 2015. In 2019, she took on the responsibility of serving as the Director of Capacity Building to strengthen our mission through productive partnerships. 

She grew up in Georgia and currently resides just east of Athens with her husband, a veteran of the U.S. Army.

You can find Michele at mwiesner@hireheroesusa.org or finer her on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelewiesner/.

For more on Michele's local professional association, the Georgia Association for Volunteer Administration, visit https://www.mygava.org/.

Elizabeth Garrabrant from the Mid-Ohio Food Collective shares how she’s engaging new types of volunteers in new ways to meet the needs of her community during the second year of the pandemic.

The Mid-Ohio Food Collective serves 20 counties in central and eastern Ohio. They run a foodbank as well as a community kitchen and market. They also operate a farm, and farmacy - providing healthy food options to ensure that community members stay healthy even while facing food insecurity.

During the pandemic the Mid-Ohio Food Collective saw the need in the community increase while their volunteers - especially their older adult volunteers - were sheltering in place, and companies were putting their employee volunteering activities on hold. When the National Guard became available to help with essential activities in the community Elizabeth put in a request - without much hope of receiving aid. Instead she found she had 100 dedicated National Guard members ready to help provide food and assistance to the community. She was able to get the Guard members successfully deployed by tapping into the experience and availability of her existing volunteers as trainers and leaders.

Throughout the initial transition period and into the ongoing pandemic Elizabeth has been able to safely bring volunteers back as well as stay connected with volunteers who prefer to work remotely by relying on open, honest, and transparent communication practices. She shares her successes as well as her challenges in balancing the needs of her organization and community, and the health and safety of her volunteers.       

Her organization is back to about two-thirds capacity and is looking forward to the future and continuing to bring back all of the ways volunteers help the meet their mission and the needs of the community.

For more information, visit https://mofc.org/volunteer/

You can find Elizabeth at egarrabrant@mofc.org or on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/egarrabrantcva/.

For More:

For more info on supporting and maintaining connections with diverse volunteers, check out Season 2 of the Time + Talent podcast, Episode 203: Dignity and Respect Extends to Volunteers, Too.

Guest Bio:

Elizabeth Garrabrant 
Director of Volunteer Services
Mid-Ohio Food Collective

Elizabeth Garrabrant has been with the Mid-Ohio Food Collective for 20 years.  In her current role, Elizabeth works with leaders throughout the organization to develop volunteerism strategies that will result in both positive and meaningful volunteer opportunities as well as meet the needs of the organization in the most efficient and effective way possible. 

She collaborates with local partners and events to bring a MOFC presence to the community.  Since her first years with MOFC, the volunteer program has grown significantly – from one project in one location- to now having MOFC volunteers assist with 35+ different activities in 15 different locations.

As a wellness organization, one of the aims of Beach Cities Health District is to impact the health and wellbeing of volunteers themselves. Through their research, they have found that volunteers who reach a threshold of at least two hours a week of volunteering are more likely to realize health benefits.  So, they work to engage volunteers at this level.

While many leaders of volunteers focus on what supporters can do for them, Megan recognizes the need to help meet the emotional and motivational needs of volunteers as well. As a manager of talent across the organization, she recognizes that volunteerism is a two-way street and that ensuring that the personal needs of volunteers are met is a key part of her job. It’s a balancing act between the needs of the organization and the needs of volunteers.

Megan also recommended building strong relationships with the various departments in her agency where volunteers are placed by understanding their goals and aspirations.  She called this practice “knowing the business” of the organization and her colleagues.

For more on how Beach Cities Health District cultivates a positive work culture for employees and volunteers, read more here -- https://www.apa.org/applied-psychology/beach-cities-health. They won the 2019 Psychologically Healthy Workplace Award from the American Psychological Association.  Way to go!

If you are interested in learning more about Beach Cities Health District volunteer opportunities, wellness programs, and to learn more about mindfulness, visit https://bchd.org/.

Megan is also President-elect of ALIVE (the Association of Leaders in Volunteer Engagement).  To find out more information about joining ALIVE and to browse their resources, go to -- https://www.volunteeralive.org/.

Megan can also be found on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/meganvixie/.

Guest Bio:

Megan Vixie, MPA, CVA, PHR, SHRM-CP

Chief Engagement Officer

Beach Cities Health District

https://www.linkedin.com/in/meganvixie/

Megan Vixie, MPA, CVA, PHR, SHRM-CP is the Chief Engagement Officer at Beach Cities Health District, one of the leading preventive health agencies in the nation. In her current role, Megan uses strategic human resource planning to improve business value and advance organizational goals and objectives.

She is responsible for designing and implementing the infrastructure to manage BCHD’s network of more than 1,000 volunteers, providing 34,000 hours of service annually. She enhances and sustains workplace culture that elevates BCHD as an employer of choice, receiving accolades as a best place to work from organizations such as the American Psychological Association, Modern Healthcare and Outside Magazine.

Megan earned a Masters of Public Administration degree and certifications in volunteer administration (CVA) and human resources (PHR, SHRM-CP). She is on the board of the Association for Leaders in Volunteer Engagement and serves on task forces such as the National Alliance for Volunteer Engagement to help advance the volunteer engagement industry and its leaders. Megan’s purpose in both life and career is to ignite the flame for others to achieve what they thought may not be possible.

What do you get when you interview a slate of talented leaders of volunteers and nonprofits professionals who understand the power of community? You get Season 2 of the Time + Talent podcast!

We couldn’t be more appreciative of our smart and dedicated guests this season and can’t wait to give you the rundown on what you can expect. We have deep respect for the talented people who lead volunteer programs -- their leadership skills are being tested in the current environment, but they are undaunted.

In the Season 2 kick-off, we discuss how putting relationships with volunteers front and center can allow for powerful changes whether they come from internal or external forces. 

We note that we still have a long way to go in terms of making volunteerism a welcoming place for people from all walks of life and that diversity in volunteer engagement isn't just something that happens. We all need to work to ensure that our organization's vision of volunteer engagement is more inclusive

Finally, we call out that digital maturity for volunteer organizations matters now more than ever and that it’s time to up our game.

It’s been an honor to interview our guests this season. They demonstrate so admirably that when things get tough, nonprofit leaders who build creativity and flexibility on top of a strong foundation are the ones that will be able to bounce forward from any crisis.

For More:

For an overview of the first Season of the Time + Talent podcast, check out Episode 101: Welcome to the T+T Podcast - Bold Practices in Volunteer Engagement.

Courtney Tull joins us to talk about her work with volunteers and  her journey - so far!

Starting with her work as an AmeriCorps member she found a connection with the work of leading and engaging volunteers in the community.

Since that first experience, Courtney has achieved her CVA (Certified in Volunteer Administration), her Masters in Administration of Human Services, and completed her Doctorate in Social Sciences.

While working for Habitat for Humanity Sussex County in Delaware, Courtney began the research for her Doctorate - exploring her suspected connections between volunteering, well-being, and quality of life.

She was right, and she confirmed that volunteers who understand and follow their motivations reap greater rewards from their service.

Courtney shares how this data can provide the grounds to tailor recruitment and marketing strategies to match the work to the motivations of volunteers. 

View the infographic of Courtney’s research here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Lwafytpve_CezWhgcMmcDfH9QJK46U7f/

You can read Courtney manuscript on her findings here: https://www.proquest.com/openview/a6dda1793a0abc57ba181d8494355324/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y

For More:

For more research on volunteer engagement check out Season 2, Episode 202 The Hard Truth: Diversity & Equity in Volunteer Engagement.

Guest Bio:

Courtney Tull, CVA, DSocSci is an experienced leader in nonprofit and human service administration specializing in volunteer management, community engagement, and social science.

Courtney earned the Delaware Service Impact Award from the Governor's Commission on Community and Volunteer Service in 2018 as a result of her AmeriCorps service.

As a practitioner, Courtney has recruited thousands of volunteers and AmeriCorps members to aid Sussex County Habitat in its mission to build affordable housing and strengthen communities in Delaware.  

Since 2020, she has designed and presented her doctoral-level research about the relationship between volunteering and well-being to professional audiences locally and nationally, also being recognized as Wilmington University's College of Social and Behavioral Sciences Academic Award Recipient in 2022.

Courtney recently relocated to Orlando, Florida where she enjoys getting to know her new community, sitting on her balcony to read and look for new healthy recipes, and caring for her guinea pigs.

You can reach Courtney at ctull04098@gmail.com or on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/courtney-tull

Open, honest, and transparent communication can produce real results when applied to introducing and implementing changes to a volunteer engagement strategy. Kendra Baumer shares the success she’s had at the New York–New Jersey Trails Commission.

Kendra practices a kind of “compassionate radical transparency” (our words) as her leadership philosophy. When conducting her program assessment, she kept everyone in the loop at every step of the way. This helped build trust in the process and buy-in when she was ready to implement program changes -- all vital for an organization that is 100 years old and steeped in tradition.

Kendra’s advice around having patience with the lengthy assessment process is spot on. Assessments take time to complete and she was so smart to set tentative timelines. You never know what you’ll learn or want to explore further and you don’t want to set unrealistic expectations at the start that this endeavor can be completed quickly.

Also, she recommends that those conducting the audit not take volunteer comments personally.  In order to truly learn, we have to be able to listen without bias or preconceived notions about what’s going on in our organizations.  Plus, she focuses on “holding herself to the expectation to share feedback in a respectful manner” helps volunteers feel safe.

Anyone interested in learning more about the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference

can visit their website at https://www.nynjtc.org/ or follow them on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @nynjtc.

If you want to reach out directly to Kendra, you can email her at kbaumer@nynjtc.org.  You can also find Kendra on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/kendrabaumer/

Guest Bio:

Kendra Baumer

Volunteer Engagement Manager

New York-New Jersey Trail Conference

Kendra joined the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference in 2017 as the Volunteer Engagement Manager. Previously, she supported the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters & Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania’s work to protect the Delaware River Watershed by developing volunteer programs that moved online activists into offline action takers.

After earning her undergraduate degree from Syracuse University, she worked in public relations where she engaged and educated consumers on LED lighting and energy efficiency. She then went back to school for her Master of Public Administration concentrated in sustainability from CUNY Baruch College. While completing her masters, she did environmental outreach and education work for the NYC Department of Environmental Protection, Somerset County Environmental Education Center and Student Conservation Association.

She enjoys hiking, camping, backpacking and nature photography.

Show Notes:

Like many organization’s Habitat for Humanity, NYC has faced challenges when tapping into the time and talent of young professionals, but Ricardo Sebastian seems to have found the secret to success!

When Ricardo took over the management of the Board he narrowed the focus of the Young Professionals Board to advocacy and fundraising and asked all current members to reapply. He wasn’t discouraged when only 3 existing members wanted to continue, and through careful and thoughtful recruitment he was able to build the Board to 21 members.

Prior to the pandemic, the Board focused on in-person events that focused on relationships and created member events that combined community, industry, and lifestyle activities all connected back to housing and the organization’s mission.

Ricardo’s approach focuses on flexibility and managing expectations, and he wants volunteers to find their passion even if it isn’t with the Young Professionals Board or Habitat for Humanity. He ensures that Young Professionals Board members are set up for success by deploying a 4 point system:

• Prioritize the needs of the organization
• Do what you say you’re going to do
• If you can’t do what you said you’d do let us know
• Meaningful financial contribution

He combines this with a very flexible leave system which includes professional leave, academic leave, and personal leave. Young Professionals Board members can take the time they need to manage other parts of their lives without feeling guilty. 

While this does create more management work Ricardo’s strategy is to create a long-term relationship with these volunteers and doesn't just see them as the volunteer they are today, but envisions how Habitat for Humanity NYC can be a part of their lives even after they’ve finished their time with the Young Professionals Board.

Ricardo also knows that most of the Young Professionals Board members don’t have an opportunity to say no in many parts of their lives, so he really sees this work as a way for them to practice saying no!

When the pandemic hit this flexibility and the open lines of communication served them well. The Young Professionals Board was able to mobilize quickly and were already prepared to jump in when other members needed to focus on work or home life. Young Professionals Board members have taken the lead on online and social media activities and they are working to move their Fall Gala online!

Guest Bio:

Ricardo Sebastián
Senior Director, Strategic Initiatives
Habitat for Humanity, New York City

Ricardo’s work brings people together, builds community, and creates a positive impact. In addition to producing events, he offers brand and talent management, and digital marketing services.

Beginning August 01, 2020, Ricardo started a new role as the Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives with Habitat for Humanity New York City. His journey with Habitat for Humanity began as a volunteer with the Habitat Young Professionals network, which led to signing Habitat NYC as a consulting client in 2017. He is honored and excited to take on his new role as they continue to develop and preserve affordable housing across all five boroughs.

For More:

If you are interested in more on how to build vibrant nonprofits governing an advisory boards, check out Season 1 of the Time + Talent podcast, Episode 108: The Rewards & Challenges of Nonprofit Board Diversity - Part 1 and Episode 109: The Rewards & Challenges of Nonprofit Board Diversity - Part 2.

Mark Hager shares his exciting research on technology adoption in volunteer management. This research was conducted in conjunction with CCVA and focused on CVAs and how they’ve changed or adopted technology during the pandemic.

Mark Hager has been leading the field in research on volunteer management and engagement for years. He has recently released an update on his original Volunteer Management Capacity Study and his new work on Technology Evolution in Volunteer Administration. He joins us to discuss what he learned in this new TEVA study, and what that might mean for the leaders of volunteers and the field of volunteer engagement. He shares how the research was originally designed before March 2020, but that the pandemic has offered a unique opportunity to study the adoption of technology in real time.

We talk about what his research has shown about leaders of volunteers and their use of technology compared with other studies of technology adoption - SPOILER - we’re willing to use it even if it isn’t all that intuitive or easy to use!

Technology Evolution in Volunteer Administration:
·  Public brief at https://cvacert.org/teva/
·  Blog commentary at https://lodestar.asu.edu/blog/2021/08/how-nonprofits-engaged-volunteers-during-covid-shutdown
 
Volunteer Management Capacity Study:
· Original 2003 public brief at http://webarchive.urban.org/publications/410963.html
·  New 2021 (2019 data) public brief at https://volunteeralive.org/volunteer_management_capacity.php
·  Summary reflection at https://d8evol.nmsdev2.com/article/july-2021/volunteer-management-capacity-study-update

For More:

For more info on research in the field of volunteer engagement, check out Season 2 of the Time + Talent Podcast, 202: The Hard Truth: Diversity & Inclusion from the Volunteer Perspective.

Guest Bio:

Mark A. Hager, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Nonprofit Leadership and Management
Arizona State University

Mark A. Hager, Ph.D., is associate professor of nonprofit leadership and management at Arizona State University. He is principal investigator of the Volunteer Management Capacity (VMC) II Study and the Technology Evolution in Volunteer Administration Study, both of which officially wrapped in Fall 2021. Both of these projects were funded by AmeriCorps (a U.S. federal government agency), and Hager is hard at work to communicate results from both studies.

Hager joined the faculty at ASU in 2008, where he helps anchor the graduate program in nonprofit studies. Before moving to Phoenix, he was a senior research associate in the Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy at the Urban Institute, a Washington D.C. think tank, where the first round of the VMC study was conducted. His research includes studies of the scope, dimensions, administration, and financial operations of and reporting by nonprofit organizations. 

In this episode, Prince Taylor, Deputy Director, VA Center for Development & Civic Engagement at the US Department of Veterans Affairs shares how their organization moved a friendly visitor program online and adapted it for remote volunteers.  

The Compassionate Contact Corps is a virtual social prescription program where trained volunteers are matched with Veterans that are experiencing loneliness or are socially isolated. The volunteer typically calls the veteran weekly for 15-60 minutes to provide socialization and companionship via phone or video calls.

In our chat. Prince shares how the program came about through the enthusiastic advocacy of his local coordinators and how they structured the program for success.  The early data on this pilot program shows that these calls improve the mental health and well-being of veterans, who are referred by their providers to the program.

We also discuss how staff prepare volunteers to be successful in the program without overextending themself or transgressing professional boundaries and where they find volunteers to help.

For more information, visit VA Center for Development and Civic Engagement Home

For more on how to partner or participate, visit Compassionate Contact Corps - VA Center for Development and Civic Engagement

For More:

For more on how volunteer-involving organizations serve veterans using remote volunteers, check out Time + Talent Podcast Episode 305: How Remote Volunteering Gave this Organization an Edge!

Guest Bio:

Mr. Prince Taylor has served as Deputy Director for VA Voluntary Service since October 2018.  Formerly he was the HR Manager for VA’s Office of Operations, Security, and Preparedness where he managed all human resource activities, advised political and career senior executives.  While serving on the VA’s Veterans Month Committee, he started the Department’s TEDxVeteransAffairs program.  

He was selected by the VA’s Corporate Executive Development Board for the Partnership in Public Service’s Excellence in Government Fellowship, which he completed in 2016 and served as a co-coach in 2018 and 2019.  Currently he serves on several advisory boards and committees, including the National VA Voluntary Service Advisory Board and the National Technical Career Field Advisory Board.  He has completed VA’s Transformational Coaching (Apprentice) program and began a doctoral program at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College in August 2020 in Leadership in Learning Organizations.  

Prince served 12 years in the U.S. Navy, serving as a deck seaman, gunner’s mate, yeoman, and intelligence specialist (he couldn’t seem to keep a job).  He served in numerous locations around the country and overseas.  He has received an M.Ed. in Workforce Education and a Bachelors in Paralegal Studies and Political Science from Southern Illinois University - Carbondale.  Today, he will give an overview of a new national program he leads called the Compassionate Contact Corps.

You can reach Prince on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedIn.com/in/prince-taylor

What happens when a volunteer manager needs to balance the needs of volunteers and paid staff? At the Lloyd Moss Free Clinic Andrea SpringerCollins takes a straightforward approach based in clear communication. In this episode she shares her approach and the systems she’s implemented to successfully manage these relationships.

Over 25 years ago, the Lloyd F. Moss Free Clinic began with medical and non-medical volunteers offering limited services two evenings a week in the Amy Guest Wing of the old Mary Washington Hospital. Over time, the Clinic has evolved into a unique and essential health care provider that is meeting a critical need in our community. As the demand for services ballooned and the number of volunteers has grown, the Clinic has relocated twice and greatly expanded its hours, services, and programs. 

Today, the Clinic operates five days a week and offers both day and evening appointments in a state-of-the-art facility. In 2018 our team of 560 volunteers, including 175 physicians and dentists, provided over 19,000 hours of care and services such as primary and specialty care, women’s health, dental care, mental health, nutrition education, and physical therapy. Patients have access to free diagnostics and specialized procedures (including surgery and chemotherapy) through Mary Washington Healthcare, Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center, and other essential community partners. 

Thanks to the volunteerism of local healthcare professionals and donations of in-kind goods and services, the Clinic’s annual budget of $2.2 million leveraged over $30 million of healthcare in 2017. The Clinic receives no federal support and depends on monetary contributions from individuals, organizations, and businesses to serve people in need each year.

Andrea shares her approach to balancing the needs of volunteers and the needs of paid staff to effectively deliver health care services to the community. It can be a delicate balance to match the right volunteer to the right role and staff supervisor and Andrea brings an optimistic and straightforward communication style to her work recruiting, screening, and orienting her highly skilled volunteers.

And, listen until the end to hear Andrea’s tips for staying centered and finding the necessary energy to continue to work with volunteers in a healthcare setting, during a pandemic.

For more information, visit https://mossfreeclinic.org/

For More:

For more information on creating volunteer management systems that work, check out Season 2 of the Time + Talent podcast, Episode 208: Transforming Your Volunteer Strategy from the Ground Up with Alison Jones-Nassar. 

Guest Bio:

Andrea SpringerCollins
Volunteer Coordinator
Lloyd F. Moss Free Clinic

Andrea SpringerCollins joined Lloyd F. Moss Free Clinic as Volunteer Coordinator in 2012. During that time she has coordinated monthly information sessions for prospective volunteers, facilitated volunteer staffing with the appropriate department managers.

She is responsible for recruiting volunteer providers including MD, DO, PA, NP, M/LCSW, DDS, RDH, and PharmD.She manages all aspects of coordinating medical volunteers including registering volunteer health care professional with the Virginia Division of Risk Management for immunity from liability, maintaining volunteer PII records and data entry, and evaluating volunteer/staff experience.

Andrea holds a Master’s of Arts Degree with emphasis in Communication from the University of Oklahoma, and a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism, Minor- Vocal Music from Southern University A&M. 

You can find Andrea at andrea@mossfreeclinic.org.

Carla Lehn had a vision for how volunteers could transform the California State Library system.

She talks about what she learned, the unexpected benefits of gathering feedback, and how she literally wrote the book on the transformative power of volunteer advocates!

Carla worked in the recent past with the California State Library to build the capacity of the state network through deeper volunteer engagement.  Through this process, she introduced libraries to the concept of skilled volunteering and began to work with local libraries to develop community leaders.

When she began the process of change, she identified benchmarks to track through a volunteer survey and review of current metrics. This allowed her to track the evidence of impact for the Get Involved Initiative.

For the work of local community groups, they were able to increase total volunteer involvement across the state by 52 percent. Because volunteers were now more intimately involved with meeting library needs they were better equipped to speak on their behalf.

Volunteer leaders also became stronger advocates of their local libraries, telling friends and co-workers about the library, recruiting fellow volunteers, speaking to local decision-makers about library needs, and making financial contributions to the library as well as asking others to give.

Guest Bio

Carla Lehn, Principal - Lehn Group

Former Library Programs Consultant, California State Library

Carla Lehn began her career as a VISTA volunteer, and after receiving a Masters in Community Development from the University of California, Davis worked for United Way for over a decade.

Prior to joining the California State Library staff in 2001 to work on statewide literacy, volunteerism, and community engagement initiatives, she was a private consultant based in Hawaii on volunteer engagement, board development, and community collaboration.

Carla has published several articles and a previous book on volunteer engagement. Her most recent work, From Library Volunteer to Library Advocate: Tapping into the Power of Community Engagement was published in June 2018 by Libraries Unlimited.

Since her December 2015 retirement, Carla has focused on her consulting practice and bucket list travel, and continues to be an active volunteer. In 2018, Carla published From Library Volunteer to Library Advocate: Tapping into the Power of Community Engagement.

Listeners can purchase it at a discount from clio.com using the Promo Code: Q31920. If you want to learn more about Carla's work, you can contact her directly at carlalehn@gmail.com. You can also connect with Carla on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlalehn/.

Cedars has been supporting individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities since 1919. They work together with the people they serve — as individuals deserving of respect, personal choice, and the chance to develop interests, skills, and independence.​

They’re residential and day programs are known for creating a life-affirming, loving environment in which personal accomplishments are celebrated, individual skills are recognized and participants are able to live creative, productive, and joyous lives.

But Cedars has been challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic and a particularly devastating wildfire season in northern California. When the pandemic hit, the agency doubled down on their focused process to operationalize the organization’s values and considered how they would be reflected in their response to COVID-19. Their motto for weathering the crisis became “We show up.”

However, to keep their residents safe they have had to cancel all in-person volunteer opportunities and events. In response, they created a curated private Facebook channel to keep everyone -- residents, volunteers, staff, and donors -- up to date on developments.  It has become much more than a way to communicate; it has become a way to continue services and connections through Zoom classes and individual chats.

After the interview, Cheryl reported back that with their fall bowling fundraiser, usually done in person but converted to a virtual event, they achieved 147% of their revenue goal, making this pivot a successful one.

Because of their success with technology, they are also planning to move forward with an online store, to complement their brick and mortar gallery, where they will sell resident artwork.  

For more information on Cedars and their innovative programming, visit https://www.cedarslife.org/.You can find Cheryl on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/cheryl-white-4113673a/.

Guest Bio:

Cheryl White
Associate Executive Director
Cedars

Cheryl White is a licensed Marriage & Family Therapist who has worked in the field of developmental services for over 20 years. As a case manager and later a program director, Cheryl began her work in the field at Tierra del Sol – a day program for adults with intellectual disabilities in Southern California. 

After returning to her home in the Bay Area, Cheryl worked with the resource development team at Golden Gate Regional Center for nine years. Her focus at the regional center was on projects related to the development of services for individuals leaving state developmental centers, as well as projects to meet the needs of children and adults living in Marin, San Francisco and San Mateo counties. 

Currently, Cheryl is Associate Executive Director at Cedars, which provides residential and day programs for adults in Marin County, Cheryl has also worked as a clinician in private practice and a regional director of a national non-profit serving Job Corps youth.

For More:

For more info on how organizations manage virtual volunteer engagement, check out Season 1 of the Time + Talent podcast, Episode 107: Digital Team Building with Remote Volunteers.

SOAR365 (formerly the Greater Richmond Arc) was founded 65 years ago by parents determined to find new and different ways to support their children with disabilities. The agency provides a range of services and employment opportunities for people of all ages with a wide range of abilities.

Alison was hired a few years ago to transform their volunteer strategy. With the agency goal of “becoming Best-in-Class in all that we do,” the agency’s executive director included volunteer engagement in that aspiration. He understood the power of volunteers and assigned Alison the task of remaking the volunteer program from the ground up.

Their ultimate goal has been to expand volunteerism to every corner of their agency. And, despite the current COVID-19 pandemic, they have been making headway. At the time of this interview, SOAR365 was participating in the Service Enterprise certification process and hoped to achieve certification by the end of 2020, the culmination of over a year of introspection and focused program development.

To bring about a total transformation in the ways they engage volunteers also requires the support of all staff. One of their key strategies for managing this change has been to offer training to employees on volunteer engagement.  It is now part of all new staff orientations and at the time of this interview, they began presenting to all current employees. The level of training depends on the level of volunteer interaction a staffer will have, but it is mandatory for everyone.

As a result of Alison’s work, the total number of volunteers at the agency has grown exponentially, proving that smart strategy and a bold vision can get results.

If you want to learn more about the work of SOAR365 and its impact in the community, visit https://www.soar365.org/.

You can also reach out to Alison via LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/alison-jones-nassar-cva-73446515/.

Guest Bio:

Alison Jones-Nassar, CVA
Volunteer Engagement Manager
SOAR365

Alison Jones-Nassar has served as the Volunteer Engagement Manager with SOAR365 since September 2017. Prior to SOAR365, she served in the same position for Virginia Supportive Housing (7 years) and the Children’s Museum of Richmond (6 years). She has been a professional in the field of volunteer engagement since 2007 and has a passion for connecting community volunteers to opportunities that serve and support vulnerable populations.

Alison has served a total of eight years on the board of GRAVA (Greater Richmond Association for Volunteer Administration), including two years as president, four years as secretary, and two years as professional development chair. She earned her CVA (Certification in Volunteer Administration) in 2011; completed the Emerging Nonprofit Leaders program in 2012; received GRAVA’s Volunteer Administrator of the Year award; and presented numerous basic and advanced volunteer management workshops locally and regionally.

At Virginia Supportive Housing, she led the entire organization through the Service Enterprise Initiative certification process, which promotes excellence in volunteer engagement through best practices, leadership, and strategic capacity-building. 

For More: For more on how another organization rebuilt their volunteer strategy from the ground up, check out Season 1 of the Time + Talent podcast, Episode 104: Using Radical Transparency to Build Volunteer Buy-In.

After decades as a leader of volunteers for high-profile national charities in the UK, Helen Timbrell switched gears to work as an organizational development consultant and coach. This afforded her the opportunity to develop and collaborate on unique research, and with a PhD she has the ability to straddle both practitioner and academic worlds.

Earlier this year, Helen conducted qualitative research into the experiences of volunteers and race. “What the bloody hell are you doing here? A comparative study of the experiences of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic and White volunteers in four organisations” was completed in March 2020.

The following four organizations participated in the study:

• Macmillan Cancer Support - https://www.macmillan.org.uk/
• Citizens Advice - https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/
• English Heritage - https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/
• Team London - https://www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/volunteering/search/

This rare, candid glimpse into the lived experiences and perceptions of BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) and white volunteers is eye-opening and serves as a call to action for volunteer-driven organizations.

In this episode, Helen and Hadji share some of the results. We discuss the challenges volunteers of color face when contributing time and implications for future practice. 

If you would like to get a free copy of the research study, contact Helen at helen@helentimbrell.com. Hadji can be reached through Helen.

You can also find Helen on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/helen-timbrell-1800415/?originalSubdomain=uk.

Guest Bios:

Dr. Helen Timbrell
People and Organisational Development Consultant

Helen works as a Consultant, Researcher and Coach, specialising in supporting charities to effectively blend staff and volunteer teams. Prior to working independently Helen was Director of People and Organisational Development at Samaritans, a UK charity working to reduce death by suicide and involving over 20k volunteers. Before that she was Director of Volunteering and Participation at the National Trust, a UK conservation and heritage charity involving over 65k volunteers.

Helen has an MBA, is a chartered member of the CIPD and is currently studying for an MSc in Coaching and Behavioural Change. Her PhD explored geographical variations in volunteering in Scotland.

As a volunteer, Helen is a parkrun Event Director and a member of the HR Advisory Committee for Amnesty International UK.

Hadji Singh
Volunteer/Volunteer Coordinator

Hadji was initially a research participant but became interested advocating and educating interested stakeholders about the results. He now presents regularly with Helen and shares his perspectives as a volunteer, participant, and now advocate.

For More:

If you are interested in more research on volunteer diversity, equity, and inclusion, check out Season 1 of the Time + Talent podcast, Episode 108: The Rewards & Challenges of Nonprofit Board Diversity - Part 1 and Episode 109: The Rewards & Challenges of Nonprofit Board Diversity - Part 2.

The Chester Zoo introduced a range of micro-volunteering activities alongside our traditional roles to engage the community in conservation action and volunteering in various ways from citizen science projects from home using motion sensor cameras in people's gardens to discover hedgehog habits to digital roles such as writing subtitles, researching and checking data to responding to letters from school children and school groups when they wrote to the zoo. 

At the same time, the Chester Zoo embarked on attaining their Investing in Volunteers quality standard, which requires documenting and improving practices in volunteer engagement. True to their community roots, they involved volunteers in helping frame their work during their credentialing process. 

In this conversation, Lindsay shares their philosophy on engaging stakeholders in their process and how they focus on person-centered volunteer engagement. She also described how they maintained connections with volunteers through social events and coffee mornings, which has led to high volunteer re-engagement and retention.

Learn more about the Chester Zoo here:  

• Chester Zoo on Twitter @chesterzoo
• Chester Zoo Learning Page - https://twitter.com/LearnatCZ
• Chester Zoo on LInkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/chester-zoo/mycompany/
• Chester Zoo Website - https://www.chesterzoo.org/

For more on the Investing in Volunteers quality standard, visit - https://investinginvolunteers.co.uk/

For More:

For more on how organizations were managing during the pandemic in the UK, check out Time + Talent Podcast Episode 307: Connecting with Volunteers During Times of Change

Guest Bio:

Lindsay joined Chester Zoo's Conservation Education and Engagement team in 2019 to manage their award-winning volunteer team. She's worked in the UK charity sector for over 15 years, managing volunteers and working with children and young people. The zoo's volunteer management team successfully engages volunteers in various roles, including visitor engagement, youth volunteering, gardening, archiving, education, community engagement and micro-volunteering. 

Chester Zoo achieved the Investing in Volunteers quality standard award in 2021; the award highlights their commitment to providing a high-quality volunteering experience. Chester Zoo's Plan for Volunteering highlights how volunteers contribute to key targets in the Conservation Masterplan, which aims to empower 10 million people to live more sustainably before the zoo’s 100th birthday in 2031.

You can reach Lindsay on LinkedIn at - https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindsay-marston-59804453/

Tobi Johnson, President & Founder of VolunteerPro, and Jennifer Bennett, Senior Manager, Education & Training at VolunteerMatch talk about why they started the Time + Talent podcast and outline the trends and themes that define this first season.

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