Engaging volunteers requires many valuable skills which can be applied in various leadership situations.  However, it's often challenging to explain this to someone who has not experienced it.  In this workshop, we'll discuss the skills gained through lessons in volunteer engagement, how to apply those skills in other spaces in which you can be a leader, and advocate for your program in an equitable and collaborative way. 

Jennifer R. Bennett joined VolunteerMatch to formalize and manage the organization’s volunteer engagement program. With her breadth of experience, she is well qualified to help VolunteerMatch’s community of nonprofits better recruit and engage volunteers. 

She shares her knowledge with volunteer managers through the webinars found on the Learning Center, in newsletters and blog entries, and at conferences around the country.  She also co-hosts the Time + Talent Podcast with Tobi Johnson from VolunteerPro.  She contributed The New Volunteer Manager’s Toolkit chapter to the guide Volunteer Engagement 2.0: Ideas and Insights that are Changing the World published by VolunteerMatch in 2015. And, she is the current Co-Editor and contributing author for the 4th Edition of Volunteer Administration: Professional Practice.

She’s a strong believer in the importance of engaging volunteers in meaningful work and was certified in Volunteer Administration in 2009. She served on the Board of the Council for Certification in Volunteer Administration from 2012-2018, and was the Chair from 2015-2018.  She currently volunteers with the Justice & Diversity Center and Project Homeless Connect in San Francisco and with the Social Justice Sewing Academy.  She holds a B.A. from Randolph-Macon Woman's College in Lynchburg, VA.