In this episode, we discuss why HR professionals should take a closer look at leaders of volunteers for open roles, especially given their strengths in people management, culture building, training, and mission alignment. We unpack the shared skills, strategies, and leadership strengths that make volunteer engagement professionals uniquely effective across sectors. We also explore why nonprofit and corporate leaders of volunteers are cousins in practice and have far more in common than most people realize. Finally, we highlight Service Enterprise as a ready-made funding opportunity and a practical pathway for organizations looking to strengthen volunteer engagement while increasing impact.

This conversation is ideal for nonprofit leaders, CSR professionals, HR teams, and anyone interested in how volunteer leadership can drive stronger organizations, better talent decisions, and greater community impact.

Today, we informally talk about informal volunteering. If you are not someone who is steeped in the nonprofit or volunteer engagement world, how do you organize to do something good in your community? Travis Doobay, Chef, wanted to do just that. Learn the challenges he faced, why he changed his mind about bureaucracy in nonprofits, why support and resources for anyone who is trying organize volunteers is vital and other lessons learned on his quest to organize a community clothes drive. At the end of the day, he encourages us to “share our light”, enough for it to become a bonfire and wants to make “volunteering hot” and I am all about it.

Contact:

Linkedin 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/travis-doobay-836666232/

Resources:

Wonder Drug

If someone told you, “You are a fish out of water and are living a fragmented life,” how would you respond? Are you sure you are a good leader? How do you know? This session will help you figure that out. We are talking about growth: Growth hurts, don’t be afraid to be pruned or broken. Honest self-assessment is vital for effective leadership.

Contact:

Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/traydeadwyler/

#servicenerd

Thinkforgood.org [email protected]

Resources

Braving Life Newsletter

When Nice Becomes a Liability

101 Affirmations for Volunteer Administrators

Bio:

Tray T.S. Deadwyler, affectionately known as the “Service Nerd” by his colleagues, is the Founder and Executive Director of Think for Good and The Service Nerd Collective. With over two decades of leadership and nonprofit development experience, Tray has dedicated the majority of his career to supporting the national service movement. His civic and professional transcript spans organizations such as the American Red Cross, Atlanta Police Department, Communities in Schools, Morehouse College, Spelman College, Points of Light Foundation, AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps, Angels in Distress, and Love Beyond Walls.

Tray's commitment to systemic problem-solving and sustainable practices has led him to co-create a theory of change to achieve success in the seven key areas of life and leadership. He identifies strategies for enhancing outcomes, connection, retention, and application within every offering. Tray holds credentials in leadership strategy, grantsmanship, volunteer management (CVM), life coaching (CLC), and a specialty in cognitive behavioral coaching (CBC). He is also a Master Practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP).

As a result of his work and commitment to communities, Tray has been honored with the Corporation for National and Community Service (AmeriCorps) Innovation Award, the Presidential Volunteer Service Award, selected as one of Aspen Institute’s Nonprofit Leadership Fellows, a New Leaders Council Fellow and Georgia Forward’s Game Changers,  named one of the most influential leaders by B. Magazine and currently serving as Honorary Commander at Dobbins ARB.
Think for Good, founded by Tray in 2012, is a leadership, civic engagement, and strategy consultancy supporting individuals and organizations to increase their efficacy through creative ideation, planning, training, and implementation. The organization is committed to helping clients rise above daily frustrations and find the connection points of purpose in everyday moments. Recognized for sound coaching and consulting methodologies, Think for Good's servant leadership style is the catalyst for bold decisions and bravery in life and leadership.

The Atlanta native is married to Jaci with two sons-Jaiden who is currently serving in the United States Navy and Jeremiah who is becoming quite the brass musician.  

Title: Is Everyone Welcome? 

Description: Faiza Venzant, CVA and Mark Hager return to share updates and insights regarding their recent research study funded by AmeriCorps surrounding inclusivity. They encourage us to imagine what an environment would feel like if no one was left out and provide tools to help you bring that dream to a reality. They share advice about why you shouldn’t let fear of making a mistake keep you from starting, and 

RESOURCES: 

https://cvacert.org/adevi/

https://learn.volunteermatch.org/is-everyone-welcome 

More About Faiza, 

Connect with Faiza Venzant, CVA  Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/faizavenzant/  

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 an advocate for volunteer engagement and excellence in volunteer management for over 20 years.  As a facilitator for the Community Action Poverty Simulation, Faiza is passionate about equity and access amongst volunteers and leaders of volunteers. Faiza immigrated to the United States with her family in 2021. 

Faiza immigrated to the United States in 2021 and now serves as the Executive Director with the Council for Certification in Volunteer Administration and an active member and volunteer with Association for Leaders in Volunteer Engagement (AL!VE.) She has been a CVA (Certified in Volunteer Administration) since 2016. 

In 2018, Faiza published her first children’s book entitled, My Mamma Wants to Eat Me Up!  As a mother of two young boys, she has not actually eaten any of her children. 

Learn more about the Council for Certification in Volunteer Administration at www.cvacert.org 

More About Mark 

Connect with Mark Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mhager/  

Mark Hager has been studying and writing about the nonprofit sector for 30 years. His doctoral dissertation centered on the reasons why nonprofit organizations closed. His years at the Urban Institute focused on studies of finance and volunteer administration. He spent 14 years as a faculty member anchoring the graduate program in nonprofit leadership and management at Arizona State University. He has stepped out of his teaching slot and is now working on research and fieldbuilding full time.  Most of his attention is back on volunteer administration, including his current leadership on Assessing Diversity and Equity in Volunteer Inclusion, a three-year project funded by AmeriCorps.

An invigorating conversation, Dr. Helen Timbrel, Rob Jackson and Chris Wade share various perspectives on the idea that “volunteer engagement professionals are just HR for volunteers”.

We tackle topics such as why you rarely hear of the position of VP of Volunteer Engagement, career trajectories for Volunteer Engagement Professionals, and the age-old question, if we don’t ask HR to manage 200 people by themselves, why do we ask Volunteer Engagement professionals to do it?

Resources and Contact Info:

Time for Impact Podcast Episode featuring Helen, Rob and Chris 

www.TimeForImpact.co.uk 

www.helentimbrell.com  Contact Helen

http://www.robjacksonconsulting.com    Rob Jackson Linkedin

Bios:

Dr Helen Timbrell - People and Organisational Development Consultant www.helentimbrell.com  [email protected]

Helen works as a Consultant, Researcher and Coach supporting individuals and organisations to develop successful volunteer and employee experiences, and to work through change. Past clients including Guide Dogs, Stroke Association, RVS, Scouts and SSAFA. Helen previously held the roles of Director of People and Organisational Development at Samaritans and Versus Arthritis. Prior to this she was Director of Volunteering and Participation at the National Trust, where she appointed the organisation’s first Head of Diversity and Inclusion. 

Helen’s PhD explored geographical variations in volunteering. She has an MBA, is a chartered member of the CIPD and holds an MSc in Coaching and Behavioural Change. 

Rob Jackson – Consultant

http://www.robjacksonconsulting.com    Linkedin

Rob Jackson has worked in the volunteering movement for over 30 years, during which time he has led and managed volunteers and volunteering in education, advice, fundraising and children’s services settings at local, regional and national levels.

Rob worked for Volunteering England for six years, most of which he spent as Director of Development and Innovation. Rob successfully generated over £3million of income, led a merger with Student Volunteering England and oversaw the delivery of a number of strategic development projects in the volunteering field.

He spent six years as a member of the Institute of Fundraising’s Standards Committee and chaired the Institute’s working party which developed the UK’s first code of good practice on volunteer fundraising. 

Chris Wade, Lead Volunteering Consultant

Podcast Episode 

www.TimeForImpact.co.uk 

Chris Wade, runs a volunteerism consultancy business called [www.TimeForImpact.co.uk]Time for Impact. He has an extensive career in the charity sector that spans 28 years. He has held director, CEO and trustee positions in UK national and local charities and infrastructure bodies. He is a consultant, keynote speaker, trainer and podcaster, helping volunteering organisations large and small, in the UK and overseas. Do check out Chris's own podcast the Time For Impact Podcast. 

Time for Impact’s mission is to disrupt traditional assumptions about volunteering; helping organisations tap into the latent goodwill in good causes. They drive innovative, lateral and strategic thinking to widen participation. As the name suggests, Time for Impact particularly specialises in helping organisations demonstrate and leverage the impact of volunteering. 

In this episode, I sit down with Jessica Pang-Parks to dive into the challenges nonprofits face with the scarcity mindset and some uncomfortable truths about the sector. We explore how the fear of competition often holds organizations back and why embracing collaboration and partnership is the key to driving impact. Jessica shares her insights on how we can shift our mindset from scarcity to abundance, highlighting that there is enough success for everyone. We also discuss what to do when you start feeling jaded by the profession, and lastly, we cover the critical topic of setting boundaries—how protecting your time and energy can lead to better outcomes for both you and the communities you serve. Whether you're feeling a bit disillusioned or just looking for ways to strengthen your nonprofit’s approach, this conversation offers both reflection and actionable advice geared toward managing expectations of working in nonprofit.

Connect with Jessica

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-pang-parks-mes-cva-31888243/ 

Website: https://www.learnwithjpp.com

Resources from Session

Association of Leaders in Volunteer Engagement Job Leveling Document https://www.volunteeralive.org/docs/AL!VE_Career_Pathways_for_the_VEP-Job_Leveling_Document.pdf 

Association of Leaders in Volunteer Engagement: https://www.volunteeralive.org 

Community-Centric Fundraising - https://communitycentricfundraising.org

Ontario Nonprofit Network: https://theonn.ca 

How to Create Effective Advisory Teams - https://nicole-r-smith-s-school.teachable.com/p/create-advisory-teams-that-move-the-mark 

Effective Advisory Team Toolkit ($25.00) https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/CDCCXKFZJ8USE 

Connecting the Cause: https://www.connectingthecause.com/ 

About Jessica Pang-Parks

Jessica is highly skilled at and incredibly passionate about stewarding relationships, coaching and mentoring others and developing and improving processes. She is the recipient of the 2021 Alison Caird Young Leader Award in recognition of her leadership and excellence in volunteer engagement and the recipient of the 2023 VMPC Exemplary Leader Impact Award in recognition of her contributions to the field as a mentor, leader, trainer, and advocate. 

Jessica earned her CVA credential in April 2023 and has facilitated Fleming College’s Volunteer Management: Spectrum of Engagement course since May 2022. She has held professional volunteer engagement roles at Crohn's and Colitis Canada, Pathways to Education Canada, the Heart & Stroke Foundation, Volunteer Toronto, and WWF-Canada. 

​

Jessica is privileged to work on the traditional land of the Huron-Wendat, the Seneca, and the Mississaugas of the Credit. Learn more about Jessica at www.learnwithjpp.com. 

Podcast Episode Description: 

Anshul, Blood Bank of Delmarva Volunteer, joins Angela Williamson, CVA and I to share how his views on volunteerism have drastically changed after volunteering. He discusses how he didn’t truly understand the value of volunteers and was skeptical that they could be reliable or dedicated, and had doubts that a team of volunteers could actually make an impact. 
He has seen the light and drops incredible gems such as, “just because I am a volunteer doesn’t mean I can’t be excellent and what I do”, and has sage advice for leaders of volunteers regarding obtaining buy-in at your organization. I promise, we did not pay him to say all that he did! Take a listen and you’ll understand what I mean! 

Connect with Angela: 

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

https://www.angelawilliamsoncva.com 

Bio: 

Angela Williamson, CVA, appreciates the many people who have shared information, wisdom, and encouragement with her and loves to pay it forward to others.  She is the Volunteer and Community Relations Specialist at the Blood Bank of Delmarva where she’s increased volunteer engagement from around 70 volunteers to over 300 in four years expanding the variety of roles and departments with volunteer engagement.  She uses her decade of experience as well as her 2022 AL!VE Impact Award to springboard her Volunteer Engagement Acceleration Consulting Business. She wants you to know you too are amazing and we are all in a journey together making the world a better place.  

Connect with Anshul: 

YouTube   TikTok, Facebook 

 Bio: 

Anshul Gupta worked at Fortune 500 companies in various roles delivering customer service, technology program management, Agile transformation, and product coaching for 36 years, working with global teams, most recently at Comcast, Guardian Life Insurance Company, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, and S&P Global. In addition to his career, he has two children, is married and lives with his spouse Sajani, and enjoys hobbies such as investment planning, weight training, cooking, swimming, traveling, and learning to play the dhol (Indian drum). 

After leaving the professional life, Anshul decided to become a social media influencer in health and fitness; he has a presence on YouTube and TikTok, and moderates a Facebook group with 300K members on the subject of physical fitness and nutrition. 

Anshul recently became a volunteer for Blood Bank of Delmarva; he decided to do so after donating blood at the Newark Center where he savored the user experience and learned more about the invaluable contributions to public health that BBD represents in saving lives. 

Learn more about how Nicole can help your volunteer program grow and flourish when you visit
www.nicolersmith.com

Title: Let Go of Perfection: How to Be an Accessibility Asset

Description: In this episode, Alec Lawson and I are talking about all things accessibility and acknowledging the fact that if you aren’t talking about accessibility you aren’t doing DEAI at all. Alec discusses how working with people with disabilities has enhanced his programs, what audio description is, and why cost isn’t a viable excuse to not implement better accessibility practices in your organization. He offers, “if you want to learn, come to me; say the wrong thing, ask the uncomfortable question, I am here to help.”

Connect with Alec

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alec-lawson-3a464680/ 

Email: [email protected]

Resources from Session

LEAD Conference:

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Crip Camp on Netflix

Atomic Habits

James Clear

I’m Glad My Mom Died

Jennette McCurdy

Demystifying Disability

Emily Ladau

More About Alec

Alec Lawson is a professional consultant in volunteerism, accessibility, front-of-house operations, and inclusivity.  With more than a decade of experience guiding and mentoring non-profit and volunteer professionals into a more human-centered, inclusive, accessible mindset, Alec continues to work with non-profits, private, and corporate businesses to strengthen engagement with all people.  He offers coaching, and access services including Audio Description, developing branding, and storytelling for access programs. and writing handbooks and policies. He works with a close team of access champions with a combined experience of over 50 years.  He is very passionate about creating welcoming environments and a sense of belonging for all. Need help with volunteerism, accessibility, or anything customer/audience-facing? Find Alec on LinkedIn or email [email protected].

Learn more about how Nicole can help your volunteer program grow and flourish when you visit
www.nicolersmith.com

Severina Ware, CVA shares her incredible background that led her into the field of Volunteer Engagement. She discusses imposter syndrome, how she overcame it and the importance of always showing up into any room as a student ready to learn something new (even about a topic you are already familiar with). She shares how she overcame the “you are new here so you don’t know how things work” when her being new didn’t mean she wasn’t right dilemma. Lastly, she shares about protecting your peace and her contribution to the new book “I Said What I Said: An Anthology of Black Women in Nonprofit” aimed to amplify and shed a positive light on Black women and their stories of thriving in spite of a society dominated by negative views of Black women.

Connect with Severina

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

Purchase a copy of “I Said What I Said” here

Bio:

Severina Ware, CVA is the Volunteer Program Manager for National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc. with over a decade of experience developing community resources and mobilizing volunteers. She is best described as an action-oriented and dynamic professional with a knack for relationship building, inspiring the growth and potential in others, and effectively engaging individuals. As a tenured nonprofit professional, she continues to be committed to growing strategic partnerships and implementing a culture of inclusion, growth, and dynamic leadership. 

Severina is a Public Voices Fellowship Alumni of The OpEd Project and her writing has been featured in VISIBLE Magazine, Ms. Magazine, Thrive Global, TRT World, and Blavity.  She is also an alumna of the inaugural cohort of Black Women in Nonprofit Leadership, sponsored by Dallas Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation. In May 2023, the BWPNL cohort published I Said What I Said: An Anthology of Black Women in Nonprofit which Severina is a featured author in sharing the stories of Black women thriving in spite of a society dominated by negative views of Black women leaders and future leaders.

Learn more about how Nicole can help your volunteer program grow and flourish when you visit
www.nicolersmith.com

Faiza Venzant, CVA, and Mark Hager share fascinating insights regarding their recent research study funded by AmeriCorps surrounding Assessing Diversity and Equity in Volunteer Inclusion We chat about whether DEAI is really still even relevant, DEAI initiatives disappearing from certain industries, the lack of adequate DEAI training opportunities and the “adversity of diversity”. We discuss the continued importance of creating spaces where every person’s opinion is actually welcome, and the next steps are now that they have this newfound groundbreaking information.

RESOURCES:

ADEVI Survey Results and Focus Group Emerging Themes

ADEVI Infographic On the Personal Identities of CVAs

The Adversity of Diversity – Carol M. Swain, Ph.D. and Mike Towle

More About Faiza,

Connect with Faiza Venzant, CVA  Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/faizavenzant/ 

From a young age, Faiza Venzant's parents instilled a strong sense of volunteerism in her 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 an advocate for volunteer engagement and excellence in volunteer management for over 20 years.  As a facilitator for the Community Action Poverty Simulation, Faiza is passionate about equity and access amongst volunteers and leaders of volunteers. Faiza immigrated to the United States with her family in 2021.

Faiza immigrated to the United States in 2021 and now serves as the Executive Director of the Council for Certification in Volunteer Administration and an active member and volunteer with the Association for Leaders in Volunteer Engagement (AL!VE.) She has been a CVA (Certified in Volunteer Administration) since 2016.

In 2018, Faiza published her first children’s book entitled, My Mamma Wants to Eat Me Up!  As a mother of two young boys, she has not actually eaten any of her children.

Learn more about the Council for Certification in Volunteer Administration at

www.cvacert.org

More About Mark

Connect with Mark Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mhager/ 

Mark Hager has been studying and writing about the nonprofit sector for 30 years. His doctoral dissertation centered on the reasons why nonprofit organizations closed. His years at the Urban Institute focused on studies of finance and volunteer administration. He spent 14 years as a faculty member anchoring the graduate program in nonprofit leadership and management at Arizona State University. He has stepped out of his teaching slot and is now working on research and field-building full-time.  Most of his attention is back on volunteer administration, including his current leadership on Assessing Diversity and Equity in Volunteer Inclusion, a three-year project funded by AmeriCorps.

Learn more about how Nicole can help your volunteer program grow and flourish when you visit
www.nicolersmith.com