Session Descriptions
Equity and Aging
Adam Suomala
Ageism shows up in subtle and not-so-subtle ways across our daily lives, shaping how people are viewed, valued, and included in our communities. For volunteer managers, recognizing and addressing ageism is essential to fostering inclusive programs that truly welcome and benefit people of all ages. In this skills-based session, we will explore how ageism shows up in our personal and professional lives, practice reframing how we talk about aging using strategies from the National Center to Reframe Aging and share practical examples to immediately apply to your work. You’ll leave more aware of how ageism affects you, your work, and equipped with tools to respond in ways that build a more inclusive, age-friendly Minnesota for each of us.
By the end of this session, you will be able to:
• Identify ways ageism shows up in everyday interactions.
• Practice responding to ageist language or assumptions in ways that foster inclusion.
•Take back practical strategies to strengthen your volunteer programs and contribute to a more age-friendly Minnesota.
Who’s Missing at the Table? Rethinking Volunteer Leadership
Sarah Mackey
As leaders of volunteers, we hold the responsibility not only to manage programs but also to ensure they reflect and honor the voices of the people most impacted. Too often, decisions about programming are made without meaningful input from those communities. If volunteers do not represent the people who stand to benefit, it is time to pause, reflect, and reimagine our approach. This workshop invites leaders of volunteers to explore how to build equity and representation into every aspect of engagement. Together, we will examine strategies for:
• Creating pathways for community members to lead and shape volunteer programs.
• Designing structures that elevate impacted voices in decision-making.
• Pausing and reassessing when programs miss the mark on representation. Through dialogue, reflection, and practical tools, participants will learn how to volunteers are not just about service for communities, but leadership with communities.
Simple Actions, Lasting Impact: Inclusive Volunteer Practices That Drive Change
Collin Kind
Want to make your volunteer program more welcoming and equitable? At the heart of strong volunteer engagement is creating a culture where every individual feels safe, valued, and empowered to contribute. By focusing on the unique needs of marginalized communities—including queer, trans, disabled, neurodivergent, BIPOC, and immigrant individuals—this session will provide practical tools you can start using right away. Through real-world examples and interactive discussion, we’ll explore simple, low-cost strategies that build belonging and break down barriers to participation.
In this workshop, you will:
• Understand why inclusivity strengthens volunteer engagement
• Apply practical, free or low-cost strategies in your program
• Support volunteers with diverse abilities and backgrounds
• Gain confidence to take action toward meaningful change
From Barriers to Bridges: Reasonable Accommodation Creates Inclusive Volunteerism
Kayla Paulson
Volunteers come with a wide range of abilities, backgrounds, and needs. Too often, organizations unintentionally create barriers through rigid role descriptions, one-size-fits-all policies, or outdated assumptions about “how things must be done.” By applying the concept of reasonable accommodation—commonly used in employment and education settings—to volunteer engagement, organizations can unlock new pathways for inclusion, belonging, and impact. In this interactive 60-minute session, participants will:
• Learn what reasonable accommodation means in a volunteer context and why it matters for equity and inclusion.
• Explore practical strategies to adapt roles, schedules, policies, and communication styles so more volunteers can contribute their time and talents.
• Engage in real-world scenarios to practice identifying barriers and brainstorming accommodations that preserve both organizational needs and volunteer dignity.
Participants will leave with ideas and language they can immediately apply to make volunteering with their organization more accessible, welcoming, and flexible—without sacrificing quality. By shifting from “if volunteers can fit into our system” to “how can we make our system fit our community and those who want to serve with us,” organizations can expand their reach, diversify their volunteer corps, and more fully live their mission.
Building Co-Dreaming Ecosystems: Designing Volunteer Infrastructure for Shared Power
Breauna Dorelus
What is Co-Dreaming and how do we create spaces of “care as infrastructure” for our volunteer engagement strategies? This session is for you! At the heart of meaningful community work is Co-Dreaming and treating it as the foundation of your engagement rather than an optional add-on. Yet, many organizations unknowingly slip into extraction, control, and saviorism, practices that can create barriers and cause harm. Together, we’ll uncover how these harmful infrastructures show up in community and volunteer engagement and explore practical ways to replace them with authentic care as a daily practice. This interactive workshop will:
• Spark new insights, provide concrete strategies, and inspire you to reimagine how your work partners with community.
• Gain insights for infusing community, neighbors and clients as decision-makers within the volunteer strategy • Understand the infrastructure needed to create an ecosystem of care.
Recognizing Differences in Communication Styles: The Key to Creating Inclusive Volunteer Spaces
Luiza Dreasher
Want to create volunteer spaces where everyone feels welcome and understood? Then this is the workshop for you! At the heart of inclusive volunteer engagement is the ability to communicate across differences. When communication styles clash, misunderstandings grow, silos form, and volunteers—especially those from underrepresented communities—can feel excluded. But when leaders know how to navigate those differences, communication becomes a bridge to belonging. This interactive session will highlight common communication challenges in diverse spaces and offer practical strategies to avoid mistakes that unintentionally create inequities. You’ll gain tips for adapting your approach, listening more effectively, and engaging respectfully with non-native speakers—equipping you to foster connection, solidarity, and inclusion in your volunteer programs.
Volunteer Lived Experience Matters: Co-creating a Culture of Care
Jessica Pang-Parks
This session is for anyone who has seen firsthand how volunteer “programming” falls short, such as in healthcare, social service, or advocacy settings. We’ll get into the real work of co-creation, moving from managing volunteers to partnering with them. You'll learn how to build a space where volunteers feel seen, heard, and valued. Come prepared to challenge your assumptions, share using Mentimeter, and step into a new way of leading with care. By the end of this session, you will be able to:
1. Identify and challenge the unconscious biases that impact your volunteer relationships, recognizing how they mirror systemic nonprofit issues.
2. Apply co-creation principles to shift your volunteer management practices from a top-down approach to a collaborative partnership, much like a patient-centered care model.
3. Develop actionable strategies to affirm and build upon volunteers’ lived experiences, creating a more inclusive and resilient culture of care.
From Microaggressions to Meaningful Engagement: Retaining Diverse Volunteers
Brianna Miller
Organizations often ask, “How do we recruit more diverse volunteers?” The harder question is: “How do we keep them?” Too often, recruitment efforts bring in volunteers from underrepresented communities only for them to encounter microaggressions, coded bias, or exclusion from existing staff and volunteers. These daily slights erode trust, create feelings of tokenism, and ultimately drive volunteers away. This session will explore the direct connection between microaggressions and retention in diverse volunteer populations. Participants will examine real-life scenarios where inequities push volunteers out, practice language and strategies for interrupting harmful behaviors, and design practical approaches for building inclusive environments that foster long-term belonging.
In this workshop, you will:
• Recognize the link between microaggressions and volunteer attrition.
• Explore how current staff and volunteers may unintentionally undermine retention efforts.
• Practice interrupting exclusionary behaviors in real time.
• Apply culturally responsive recruitment and retention strategies that center dignity and belonging.