2022 Hybrid Volunteer Engagement Leadership Conference Speaker Biographies
June 8, 9 & 10, 2022
9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. (Central Time)
Maureen L. Bourgeois is MAVA's Vista Program and Office Manager. Prior to joining the MAVA staff, Maureen coordinated and oversaw administrative aspects of the Certified Family Life Educator designation with the National Council on Family Relations (NCFR) the oldest nonprofit, nonpartisan, multidisciplinary professional association focused solely on family research, practice and education. Maureen has a Bachelor's degree in Theatre Arts from the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities.
Karmit Bulman is MAVA’s Executive Director. She has extensive experience running non-profit organizations and has a strong background of leadership in international, national and statewide coalition building. In the past Karmit has served as an attorney and as executive director for nonprofits. She oversees strategic planning, board development, financial management, fundraising, program development and day to day programming at MAVA.
Sue Carter Kahl is a writer, facilitator and researcher who has spent her career in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors. Her work is infused with lessons learned as a volunteer center executive, state service commissioner, nonprofit board member, staff member, volunteer and researcher. Her current projects include consulting and training on the value that volunteers bring to organizations, translating her research on volunteer impact into practitioner-friendly resources, and blogging at Volunteer Commons.com.
Yixiu Chen, M. Ed (she/hers) works as an Equity and Inclusion Education Specialist at the Department of Human Services in the Office of Equity and Inclusion Office. She provides equity and antiracism training for State employees and helps build institutional capacity to carry out anti-racism measures. Her background is in educational program management within the public and nonprofit sectors. She is interested in working with refugee communities and BIPOC youth as well as mindfulness and somatic healing for racial justice.
Dr. Ken Culp, III is Principal Extension Specialist for Volunteerism and Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Family Sciences at the University of Kentucky. He supports 19,815 adult and 4,489 youth volunteers. He received his B.S. and M.S. in Animal Sciences and his Ph.D. in Educational Foundations and Administration, all from Purdue University. Ken has 34 years of experience in volunteer administration and leadership development. He has presented more than 400 workshops and seminars since 1996 in 41 states, Canada, Japan and South Korea and has published 40 articles in professional journals.
Holly Daniels grew up in very rural Warren, MN, in the Northwest part of state, and went to college in Moorhead (at MSUM). Before starting at MAVA in late 2021 as the Greater Minnesota Program Manager, Holly was a volunteer coordinator in Roseville at Every Meal — both positions have afforded Holly awesome chances to connect with people and hear their stories. She loves learning what makes each Minnesota community unique.
Rosie Drumgoole is currently the Chief Program Officer at Chicago Cares. A dynamic and charismatic leader, Rosie has been in the volunteer engagement world for well over a decade. Rosie currently leads the programs team which mobilizes volunteers and catalyzes change by promoting diverse civic engagement and equips civic leaders-young and old while helping local communities, nonprofits and corporations alike meet their strategic goals and priorities.
Emily Fox-Penner is serving as Literacy Minnesota's Access Coordinator VISTA, a position dedicated to advancing disability access and equity in Minnesota Adult Education, including for the volunteers serving as teachers, tutors and classroom assistants in literacy programs across the state. Her own volunteer experiences have included fundraising for a small environmental education nonprofit, teaching English with adults, tutoring high school students for the SAT and staffing overnight shelters for adults and youth.
Jonathan Grinde is MAVA’s Volunteer and National Service Program VISTA. He has experience in national service; previously serving as an AmeriCorps member with Minnesota Reading Corps at Stonebridge World School. He was an elementary literacy tutor working with kindergarten-third grade students. He has a Bachelor’s degree in English and a minor in public policy from Carleton College in Northfield, MN. His passions include reading, running, traveling and spending time with his ever-growing family.
Marcia Hale, CVA Volunteer Engagement Hillsboro Public Library, City of Hillsboro, OR, has over 20 years of experience developing, leading, and supporting nonprofits building effective, sustainable volunteer programs. She has worked with museums, large and small, social service agencies, managed a volunteer center with RSVP and VISTA programs and served as an AmeriCorps member. Marcia is the 2021 Better Impact Exemplary Leadership Award recipient through the Association of Leaders in Volunteer Engagement.
Niila Hebert is a passionate and thoughtful community engagement professional who has worked with nonprofit organizations for more than 15 years. She carries a zest for developing collective strategies to increase community access, wealth and opportunities. Niila is highly skilled in creating partnerships and connections through innovative and equitable practices. She is a certified volunteer administrator, a trained intercultural development practitioner, a member of the CCVA Exam Committee and has served on the MAVA Board of Directors for 5 years. Niila is a graduate of California State University of Long Beach, majoring in communications and black studies.
Naaima Khan is Owner and Principal of Create Good, where she builds organizations' capacity to embrace antiracist practice through equity-centered strategic planning and evaluation. Naaima has worked with nonprofits for 15 years as a strategic planner, facilitator, content creator, grant manager, evaluator and equity/inclusion leader. She holds a Master’s in Public Affairs from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. Naaima coaches her clients to apply principles of human-centered design and restorative justice. She serves on the board of the Minnesota Evaluation Association and participates in restorative justice circles to help divert community members from the local court system.
Dana Litwin, CVA, is a globally recognized strategic advisor, speaker and advocate for civic service. Since 2002 she has guided organizations in California's Silicon Valley and nationwide to produce breakthrough volunteer and community engagement programs. Dana is the creator of the YouTube channel “Priceless Advice for Leaders of Volunteers”, served as President of the Association of Leaders in Volunteer Engagement (AL!VE) and is a founder and facilitator of the National Alliance for Volunteer Engagement.
Betsy McFarland is a principal at Adisa, a consulting firm dedicated to helping purpose-driven individuals and organizations unleash talent and achieve impact. She also runs Energize which helps organizations leverage the power of volunteers. Betsy specializes in providing training, guidance and assessments in effective volunteer engagement and guides organizations through strategy development to ensure effectiveness at all levels. She is a Certified Volunteer Administrator (CVA) and a trained facilitator, with an Executive Certificate in Facilitation through Georgetown University’s Institute for Transformational Leadership. Betsy is also a facilitator for the National Alliance for Volunteer Engagement.
Brittany McGarry, MA, CVA is a Senior Manager in Volunteer Engagement at the National MS Society. She holds a Masters degree in College Student Development from Appalachian State University and a Bachelor's in Communications from Bellarmine University. She obtained her CVA in 2021. Brittany has been in the field for just under 4 years as a professional and is well versed in volunteer leadership for over 10 years.
Lisa C. Orloff is a thought leader in disaster management specializing in volunteer management, community engagement and emotional resiliency. Orloff has two decades of experience in the field and in the classroom. She is the founder of World Cares Center, the not for profit, voluntary organization she spearheaded post September 11, 2001 and the President of Resiliency Advisors, a consulting firm. She has authored Managing Spontaneous Community Volunteers in Disasters used in the field and in the classroom.
Sarah Philippe (she/her) is passionate about volunteerism, accessibility, history and ice cream. She has been a leader of volunteers at several different Twin Cities non-profits, ranging from performance art centers to victim services organizations to healthcare facilities. She earned her Certification in Volunteer Administration in 2021 and has completed certificates in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Workplace and Ethical and Inclusive Leadership, both from the University of South Florida Muma College of Business. In her free time, she likes spending time with her cat, eating ice cream and playing with her nieces and nephews.
Ellen Ray has worked in Chicago as a community organizer and nonprofit leader for two decades. Currently Chief Executive Officer at Chicago Cares, Ellen has a robust history of capacity building, program development and community building. In her time at Chicago Cares, she has reshaped the organization’s approach to service, implemented the organization’s new community investment strategy and launched innovative approaches to help Chicagoans find their place and their power to transform our city.
Karen Reid, MA, CVA, partners with clients across sectors, developing strategic communication plans, customized engagement programs and comprehensive training and education sessions that empower organizations to purposefully recruit top-notch volunteer talent and cultivate vibrant, mission-driven teams. Her tailored experiences promote effective communication and increased participation for associations, nonprofits, corporations, alumni and community organizations, boards and foundations. Karen sits on the Leadership Team and Chairs the Communication Working Group for The National Alliance for Volunteer Engagement.
Cairn Reisch has firmly established herself as a leader, innovator and strategic professional in every aspect of engagement with nearly a decade of experience. In addition to her professional experience, she went on to obtain her Volunteer Administration Certification, the first person in North Dakota to do so.
Polly Roach is Program Director at the Minnesota Alliance for Volunteer Advancement, supporting Service Enterprise, a holistic change management process helping organizations strategically deploy volunteer talent to better achieve their missions. Polly has worked in the volunteer engagement field for over 30 years. Before joining MAVA’s staff in 2018, she served on its Board of Directors, chairing the Strategic Directions Committee, and receiving MAVA’s Mary Wiser Award for Leadership in the Field of Volunteer Resources.
Brian Rosenbaum, MSSW, CVA, is a Southern California native with 15 years’ US and international nonprofit experience. He earned his BA in Psychology and Spanish at UCLA and his Master of Science in Social Work at Columbia University, specializing in program development and community organizing. Brian currently serves as Director of Community Engagement at Imagine LA, a nonprofit dedicated to ending the cycle of family poverty and homelessness, where he oversees volunteerism, partnerships, communications, fundraising, and events.
Corina Sadler, CVA is the Volunteer Resources Supervisor at the City of Plano, Texas. Her work includes supervising their municipal volunteer program of up to 10,000 volunteers a year. Her career spans 16 years in local government and committee work for several professional volunteer management associations. She enjoys providing volunteer management guidance to nonprofits and municipalities to empower the community through volunteerism.
Beth Steinhorn partners with organizations to increase impact through strategic and innovative engagement. Beth regularly participates in the national dialogue about volunteerism and engagement and is co-editor of the new book, Transforming Disruption to Impact: Rethinking Volunteer Engagement for a Rapidly Changing World. She has trained and certified dozens of Service Enterprises. Prior to consulting, Beth worked with education and faith-based organizations and spent years working with museums as an educator, manager, and anthropologist.
Terry Straub is the U of M Extension Master Gardner Volunteer Program – Hennepin County Extension Educator. He is also adjunct faculty with the University of St. Thomas Opus College of Business, teaching “volunteer management” in the Mini-MBA in Non-profit management. He is one of MAVA’s Volunteer Impact Leadership Training Series Trainers, as well as a North Central Region co-facilitator in the “Achieving the Extension Mission Through Volunteer Engagement” series. Terry received his Certificate in Volunteer Management from Hamline University.
Faiza Venzant,CVA is the Executive Director of the Council for Certification in Volunteer Administration. With 20 years of leadership experience in volunteer engagement, she continues this work with a goal of centering community amongst the profession, improving equity and access to volunteerism and increasing diversity amongst professional leaders of volunteers. 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.
Tara Waters comes from a long line of public service professionals and enjoys carrying on the tradition as the program manager for Volunteer Raleigh (NC). She is passionate about using her love of people, education and communication to help connect residents to volunteer opportunities within City departments and organizations that provide services to enhance the quality of life for local neighborhoods and communities.
Michele Wiesner, Director of Capacity Building, is responsible for the growth and results of service delivery support programs, including the Volunteer Program, at Hire Heroes USA. These support programs serve to increase organizational reach, effectiveness and efficiency through partnerships and supporters. Michele joined her organization in 2012 as the organization’s first Volunteer Coordinator and created the organization’s Volunteer Program. Michele has a Master of Public Administration (MPA) and the Certification in Volunteer Administration (CVA).
Sheri Wilensky Burke has worked with national and community-based nonprofits for 35+ years. As a consultant/trainer, she offers a common-sense approach to volunteer engagement. Before developing her own business, Sheri spent 12 years as National Director, Volunteer Management & Board Development for the American Lung Association, establishing strategic direction and providing consultation/training nationwide to strengthen volunteer engagement and board development. Sheri was President of NYAVA and an AVA board member.
Rochelle Younan-Montgomery is the Founder and Facilitator at Holistic Workplace Inclusion LLC. She is equity-minded and empathetic while valuing the work of transformational change. She is a catalyst for bridging divides and creating space for accountability, healing and reconciliation. Rochelle’s background spans environmental justice organizing, student leadership development, equitable recruitment/retention in higher education and organizational intercultural development. She is a published author, with work featured on the Winters Group Inclusion Solution Blog. She also serves as a YWCA Racial Justice Dialogue Facilitator.