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Join our NOVAA Board of Directors!Are you interested in gaining board experience, and making great professional connections while supporting NOVAA's work in the community? Then we want YOU to join our Board! We are primarily virtual and hybrid, and are looking for board members across the entire region (or country)! NOVAA is an all-volunteer team providing resources for leaders in volunteer management through trainings, workshops, and networking events for a membership of 200+, and we are looking for new board members to join us for our July 2026-June 2027 fiscal year! As a member of the board, you can gain valuable professional experience and work with an awesome team in a collaborative environment to help support our members through planning, administering workshops, other professional development and networking events, and more! To learn more, join us for this virtual info session to hear from current board members and learn about open positions, board service, and ask questions. View position descriptions here. |
Current Board of Directors (2025-2026) |
Rayne Schwantes (she/her), President,& Marketing Co-Chair info@novaa.org
| Rayne (she/her), MBA, CVA, is the current President of NOVAA, following one year as Co-President and three years as Board Secretary. She brings over a decade of experience in volunteer administration, beginning her career as a two-term AmeriCorps member. Rayne has led volunteer and community engagement efforts across housing, food security, healthcare, and environmental justice sectors. She holds a Master of Business Administration, a Certification in Volunteer Administration, and certificates in nonprofit management and grant writing. Rayne is also an active volunteer with the Columbia Humane Society, where she fosters cats and kittens year-round. Outside of her professional and volunteer work, Rayne enjoys life in Northwest Portland with her partner and their senior rescue pets. Whether exploring the neighborhood in search of the best dog treats, cheering on the Portland Thorns, or relaxing at home with a crochet project and a full couch of animals, she values connection, care, and a little everyday joy. |
Sarah Lynch (she/her), Executive Assistant
| Sarah Lynch (she/her) joined the NOVAA Board in 2025 as Executive Assistant. She serves in the position of Volunteer Programs Manager at Portland Japanese Garden and is proud to manage a group of around 230 volunteers in a variety of programs that center around Garden education and guest experience. She has been involved in volunteer administration for three years. Before joining the Volunteer team at the Garden, Sarah was employed in the arts in New York, working at Christie’s auction house and for a ceramics dealer. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, playing tennis, exploring art museums and galleries, and spending time with family and friends. |
Jenessa Raines (she/her), Membership Chair, Marketing Co-Chair membership@novaa.org
| Jenessa stepped into the Membership Chair role at NOVAA after being in the Volunteer Manager role for a few years and is LOVING it. She is queen bee in every room. She was born and raised in Portland, Oregon. She's married to her husband Hal, and has two fur babies, Tom (cat) and Jerry (doggo). She loves building Lego and reading fiction. She's willing to try something at least once! She's the type of gal that never meets a stranger. |
Sheri Mascorro (she/her), Volunteer Management Training Chair, Workshop Chair | Sheri Mascorro has been a member of NOVAA for almost 5 years. Last year she was on the Workshop Program committee, and this is her first year on the board as the Volunteer Management Training Chair. For Sheri, being more involved in NOVAA is exciting and great to be able to collaborate with and learn from other volunteer administrative professionals. As the VM Training Chair, Sheri finds it very rewarding to be able to help and support others to develop and grow their careers in the volunteer administrative field. Sheri has been working in volunteer management for over 15 years and is currently the Volunteer Manager for NAMI Clackamas, managing over 100 volunteers each year. Sheri moved to Portland from the Bay Area in 2019 to be closer to her 2 daughters, 4 grandfurbabies, and now her new grandson. |
Jennifer Lawson, (she/her), Marketing Co-Chair | Jennifer (Jen) Lawson joined the NOVAA Board last year, after several years of enjoying NOVAA's learning and networking opportunities as a member. She has worked in medical settings of various sizes (from a large hospital to a small Free Clinic) managing and coordinating both volunteers and medical students. On a personal level, volunteering has always served as a great way to get to know a new community and meet people as her husband and two daughters moved multiple times over the years. She is passionate about elevating the roles of volunteers as well as those who manage them. One of her favorite things when not working is visiting parts of Oregon and Washington that she has never before seen. The Sasquatch face-in-the-hole picture above was taken at beautiful Lake Quinault in the Olympic National Park. |
Rickie Ramsperger (she/her), Finance Chair
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Rickie Ramsperger currently works as the volunteer coordinator for the Habitat for Humanity Portland ReStore. She has been with Habitat for 4+ years. Last year she served as the Fiscal Officer on the board of directors for NOVAA and continues to serve in that position this year.
Her favorite activities are lace making and talking to her plants in her vegetable garden. |
Other Board Positions | Member-at-large: Support the board and its committees in their work to position NOVAA as a leader in providing training and professional development opportunities to the volunteer engagement community. |