2022 Governor’s Conference on Volunteerism

Welcome & Keynote

James McKim, Managing Partner, Organizational Ignition, LLC & President, Manchester NAACP;
Governor Chris Sununu;
Gretchen Stallings, Executive Director, Volunteer NH

2022 Governor’s Outstanding Volunteer Manager of the Year

The Governor’s Outstanding Volunteer Manager of the Year Award was created by former Governor John Sununu to honor a volunteer administrator for their excellence in leadership and management of volunteers in New Hampshire.

The 2022 award recipient, Ann Vennard, is the Assistant Director of Advancement at Cornerstone VNA (Rochester, NH). Ann excels at everything from volunteer placement to problem-solving to recognition for a job well done. Her warm, cheerful, and creative nature never fails to make volunteers feel appreciated. Ann also goes the extra mile in seeking opportunities to improve the volunteer program, such as securing funds to formalize materials and advertise opportunities to get involved.

Governor Sununu made a special guest appearance to announce the 2022 Governor’s Outstanding Volunteer Manager of the Year. View the full Welcome & Keynote session recording, below, to see the award presentation & acceptance.

The keynote address, “Can Beloved Community Exist in the ‘Live Free or Die’ State?” will be delivered by James McKim.

Keynote: “Can Beloved Community Exist in the ‘Live Free or Die’ State?” – James McKim

Everyone wants to feel included – like they belong to a group; a state of being that is referred to as “Beloved Community.” But in some ways, our society seems to be moving toward an individualistic attitude of, “just let me do what I want to do,” which can be seen as a growing interpretation of our New Hampshire state motto, “Live Free or Die.” In this engaging keynote, James will share how volunteering in a collaborative way keeps us free, as individuals, and alive, binding us together in ways that make us feel that we belong as part of a Beloved Community.

Keynote Goals:

By the end of this keynote session, participants will have learned how to:

• Understand the power of Beloved Community;
• Understand your role as a volunteer in creating Beloved Community here in NH.

Resources:

• Slides

Keynote Speaker Biography:

James McKim is Managing Partner of Organizational Ignition, a Management Consulting practice. He is a sought-after organizational performance speaker, coach, change manager, and author of the best-selling book The Diversity Factor: Igniting Superior Organizational Performance. Over his 35+ year career, he has helped small and large organizations, for-profit and non-profit, spark efficiency and growth through the aligning of people, process, and technology. Mr. McKim is known nationally for his current focus on organizational and individual performance through diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). He is recognized by industry watchers such as ATD, Brandon Hall, Bersin Associates, Axelos, and PMI for his dedication to creating win-win situations between organizations and their employees.

Senior Volunteers: The Hidden Workforce

Marc A. Boyd, Volunteer State President, AARP NH; 

Ashley Davis, Associate State Director of Outreach and Advocacy, AARP NH; 

Iris Altilio, Volunteer, AARP NH; 

Mary Roberge, Volunteer, AARP NH

• Categories: Volunteer Recruitment/Management; Organizational Management & Culture; Personal/Professional Development
• Target Audiences: Volunteer managers; Leadership of nonprofits/public agencies; Other employees of nonprofits/public agencies; AmeriCorps members and/or AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers
• Session Level: Intermediate: For individuals who are familiar with the topic & and want a deeper understanding with actionable takeaways
• Session Features: Lecture; Q&A; Interactive activities; Digital Content (PowerPoint, video, etc.)

Session Description:

Engaging the 50+ year-old-volunteer is a mutually beneficial relationship for your organization and the individual. Senior volunteers have a wealth of experience, skills, and extensive “real world” experience to share. They also tend to have more time to give and are eager to explore their passions. While what you know about general volunteer engagement can apply to the senior volunteer, there are some critical differences. In this presentation, we will discuss what is unique in engaging the senior volunteer. We will take a brief look at intergenerational volunteering and share the experiences of several volunteers – and volunteer managers – in our community.

Session Goals:

By the end of this session, participants will have learned how to: 

• Identify what is unique about recruiting, training or retraining, motivating, engaging, and retaining your senior volunteer; 
• Reveal volunteering barriers to overcome for both the senior volunteer and your organization; 
• Look at the benefits of volunteering for the senior volunteer and for your organization.

Resources:

• Slides

Biographies:

Marc A. Boyd is a retired New Hampshire educator with over forty years of Administrating and Teaching at the Elementary, Middle, High School, and College levels. He is a nationally and state recognized Elementary School Principal, New Hampshire 2004 Elementary School Principal of the Year, AARP-NH volunteer since 2013 and State President of AARP-NH, April 2016 – Present.

Mary Roberge is the Team Lead Volunteer for the AARP NH Greater Manchester Planning Team and on the Leadership Team for the AARP NH Tri Community. She is involved in the legislative work for AARP NH, the Speakers Bureau, fraud prevention, and various projects. She is a 2016 Senior Leadership Alumnus and recipient of the AARP NH 2019 Advocacy Volunteer of the Year and the AARP NH 2020 Andrus Award. Mary has always been involved in community volunteering and is currently a SHIP counselor with ServiceLink and an usher for The Palace Theatre.

Iris Altilio is a transplant to NH, semi-retiring here in 2014 from Staten Island, NY. After a career of over forty-five years in banking and technology, Iris uses her knowledge and experience as a volunteer with several NH nonprofits including the Friends Program, where a six-year stint with the Concord Coalition to End Homelessness became a part-time job in 2021. When not working at CCEH, Iris volunteers with AARP NH, OLLI at Granite State College and Granite State Ambassadors. Sleep is overrated so Iris is also the Chair of the Supervisors of the Checklist in Pembroke, NH.

Ashley Davis is the Associate State Director of Outreach and Advocacy at AARP NH. Ashley has had a career spanning over ten years in non-profit engagement, public health and senior management. Ashley currently works to support engagement across the state.

Master the 7 Types of Listening

Jennifer Elder, CEO, The Sustainable CFO

• Categories: Organizational Management & Culture; Personal/Professional Development
• Target Audiences: Volunteer managers; Leadership of nonprofits/public agencies; Other employees of nonprofits/public agencies
• Session Level: Intermediate: For individuals who are familiar with the topic & and want a deeper understanding with actionable takeaways
• Session Features: Lecture; Q&A; Interactive activities; Digital Content (PowerPoint, video, etc.); Pre-session engagement (“homework”)

Session Description:

Listening is so easy to do and yet so hard to do well. We have two ears and one mouth because listening is twice as hard as talking. Yet, only 2% of the population has received formal training in listening. Have you ever said (or heard), “I told you that already” or “that’s not what I said” or “aren’t you listening?” Poor listening skills are to blame. If we engage in active listening we can reduce mistakes, identify problems, resolve conflict, increase trust, strengthen relationships, and build knowledge.

This session will dive into four styles and seven methods of listening. Discover when and how to use each style for maximum effectiveness. This session is for you if you want specific tips and techniques to take your listening skills to an advanced level. Listen actively. Understand deeply. Connect strongly.

Session Goals:

By the end of this session, participants will have learned how to: 

• Describe four listening styles and seven different listening methods;
• Identify which listening style to use for maximum effectiveness based on the situation;
• Build their listening muscles with specific techniques.

Resources:

• Slides

Biography:

Jennifer Elder, CSP, CPA is an executive coach who helps smart professionals transform from technically talented to strategically savvy. If you want more influence and impact, and to be seen as a valued business partner, Jennifer will help you take deliberate actions to accelerate, expand and achieve your potential. Be seen, be heard, be valued! As a keynote speaker, Jennifer understands the difference between information and influence. She has presented to over 15,000 people in all 50 states and 9 countries.

Lessons from the Pandemic: Effective Advocacy and Engagement with Your Communities

Stephen Pimpare, Coordinator, Public Service & Nonprofit Leadership Program, UNH

• Category: Civic Engagement
• Target Audiences: Volunteers; AmeriCorps members and/or AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers; AmeriCorps program staff
• Session Level: Intermediate: For individuals who are familiar with the topic & and want a deeper understanding with actionable takeaways
• Session Features: Q&A; Interactive activities; Digital Content (PowerPoint, video, etc.)

Session Description:

This session will offer an overview of the local, state, and nation-level policymaking and service delivery systems in the wake of COVID-19 and the responses to it. Through small group workshops and interactive discussions, participants will have an opportunity to identify the issues, communities, and/or populations groups that matter most to them and then to think strategically about how to effect changes that will improve well-being.

Session Goals:

By the end of this session, participants will have learned how to:

• Identify the issues/populations/communities of greatest concern to you;
• Think strategically about where opportunities for change reside;
• Create your own Action Plan/Next Steps Agenda.

Resources:

• Slides

Biography:

Stephen Pimpare is the founder and director of the Public Service & Nonprofit Leadership Program at the University of New Hampshire. A former leader of NYC nonprofit direct service and advocacy organizations and long-time consultant for AmeriCorps VISTA, he is the author of four books about poverty and US social welfare policy.

Fostering and Maintaining our Emotional Health

Maura McGowan, Program Director, NH Teen Institute;

Marissa Carlson, Executive Director, NH Teen Institute

• Categories: Personal/Professional Development; COVID-19 Resiliency
• Target Audiences: All
• Session Level: Intermediate: For individuals who are familiar with the topic & and want a deeper understanding with actionable takeaways
• Session Features: Lecture; Q&A; Small group discussion; Interactive activities; Digital Content (PowerPoint, video, etc.)

Session Description:

After experiencing greater than normal stressors living through a pandemic, our ability to monitor and manage our emotional health has become more important than ever to our own well-being and the relationships we have with those at home and in the workplace. In addition to being able to help their own emotional health, this workshop will offer participants tools that can be brought to all of those they support through their jobs and in their lives.

Session Goals:

By the end of this session, participants will have learned how to:

• Define aspects of emotional health;
• Recognize their emotional health “Danger Zones” & how to adjust their coping to keep or move back into their “Healthy Zones”;
• Have tools they can use to support their peers, clients, and others in their life to manage their emotional health and cultivate resiliency.

Resources:

• Slides
• Emotional Health Grid
• Handful of Help
• Emotional Health Board

Biographies:

Maura McGowan, CPS, is the Program Director of the NH Teen Institute, a non-profit agency whose mission is to empower youth through personal leadership development and community engagement. Maura has worked in the field of prevention since 2002, became a volunteer with the NH Teen Institute in 2008, and has been a Program Director in charge of youth programming and volunteer engagement since 2017. She is a graduate of the New England ATTC Leadership Development Program and has served as a mentor in the New England PTTC Prevention Mentorship Program. In 2021, Maura was appointed as an advisor to the NH Governor’s Youth Council, and she is on the advisory committee for the NH Prevention Community of Practice.

Marissa is the Executive Director of the NH Teen Institute, where she oversees and facilitates training for both the youth participants and TI’s youth & adult volunteer program staff. In addition, she is the President of the Prevention Certification Board of NH, the NH Prevention delegate to the IC&RC, and serves as the lead advisor of the Prevention Specialist credentialing committee. She serves as co-chair of the NH Governor’s Commission Prevention Task Force and sits on the advisory council of the New England Prevention Technology Transfer Center (PTTC). Marissa holds an MS in Nonprofit Management from Bay Path University and is a Certified Prevention Specialist.

Inclusive Leadership: Igniting Staff and Volunteers for Optimal Performance

James McKim, Managing Partner, Organizational Ignition, LLC; President, Manchester NAACP

• Categories: Volunteer Recruitment/Management; Organizational Management & Culture; Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (JEDI); Personal/Professional Development
• Target Audiences: Volunteer managers; Leadership of nonprofits/public agencies; Members of a nonprofit Board of Directors; Business owners/employees
• Session Level: Intermediate: For individuals who are familiar with the topic & and want a deeper understanding with actionable takeaways
• Session Features: Lecture; Q&A; Small group discussion; Interactive activities; Digital Content (PowerPoint, video, etc.); Pre-session engagement (“homework”)

Session Description:

Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) is a proven way to elicit superior performance from teams and individuals. But that performance does not just happen by itself. Even if there is a DEI Plan, that plan needs to be carried out day-to-day by the people in your group. How do you engage everyone equitably so that they perform at their best and your team performs at its highest level? This workshop explores how to ignite your staff to optimal performance using our formula of equitable inclusion of diverse people.

Pre-Session Engagement

Before attending the session, please view the 3.5-minute video, “An Introduction to Unconscious Bias.”

Session Goals:

By the end of this session, participants will have learned how to:

• Provide an equitable, inclusive environment for their team in meetings and interactions, increasing employee/volunteer satisfaction;
• Facilitate innovative thinking and decision making, increasing the number of ideas and the quality of ideas generated;
• Create win-win situations with each employee/volunteer, increasing employee/volunteer satisfaction.

Resources:

• Slides

Biography:

James McKim is Managing Partner of Organizational Ignition, a Management Consulting practice. He is a sought-after organizational performance speaker, coach, change manager, and author of the best-selling book The Diversity Factor: Igniting Superior Organizational Performance. Over his 35+ year career, he has helped small and large organizations, for-profit and non-profit, spark efficiency and growth through the aligning of people, process, and technology. Mr. McKim is known nationally for his current focus on organizational and individual performance through diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). He is recognized by industry watchers such as ATD, Brandon Hall, Bersin Associates, Axelos, and PMI for his dedication to creating win-win situations between organizations and their employees.

The Transformative Power of Engaging Volunteers with Lived Experience

Amber Johnston, Director of Volunteer Services, Upper Valley Haven;

Prudence Pease, Trainer, Bridges out Of Poverty; Director of Work United, Granite United Way

• Category: Volunteer Recruitment/Management
• Target Audiences: Volunteer managers; Leadership of nonprofits/public agencies; Other employees of nonprofits/public agencies; AmeriCorps members and/or AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers; AmeriCorps program staff
• Session Level: Intermediate: For individuals who are familiar with the topic & and want a deeper understanding with actionable takeaways
• Session Features: Lecture; Q&A; Case studies; Small group discussion

Session Description:

This session will be a joint presentation between Amber Johnston, Director of Volunteer Services at the Upper Valley Haven, and Prudence “Pru” Pease, trainer for Bridges out Of Poverty and Director of Work United at Granite United Way. They will discuss the role volunteering played in breaking Pru’s cycle of poverty and the steps the Upper Valley Haven has taken to diversify their volunteer base.

The session will focus on recruitment methods, language usage, and addressing barriers that face people who want to volunteer. We will also talk about the importance of including volunteer input and feedback when conducting program evaluations and making changes.

Session Goals:

By the end of this session, participants will have learned:

• Practical techniques for diversifying your volunteer base and networks;
• Concrete benefits of including individuals with lived experience in your volunteer programs;
• Methods for incorporating inclusive language in your volunteer recruitment.

Resources:

• Slides
• Mentioned in the session: Basecamp discussion/resource-sharing platform for local volunteer managers

Biographies:

Amber Johnston joined the Upper Valley Haven in June 2014. A native Vermonter, Amber received her BS from Union College and graduated from the MALS program at Dartmouth College. Amber returned to the Upper Valley after spending five years working with refugees and displaced populations in East Africa and the Middle East. She has a background in mental health and social service program development and has overseen and developed programs in the United States, Tanzania, Rwanda, Kenya, and Egypt.

Pru Pease has created a career dedicated to advancing the lives of others in her community and across the country. In her role as Director of Work United at Granite United Way, she and her team bring stability to the lives of workers and their families in the Upper Valley region of Vermont and New Hampshire. She is a highly sought-after speaker nationwide on the topic of economic instability. She lives in Tunbridge, Vermont.

Building Community with AmeriCorps NCCC and Outside Volunteer Groups

Alana Svensen Hults, Assistant Program Director, AmeriCorps NCCC

Session Description:

The session will talk about how partnering with outside volunteer groups for a range of a week to a few weeks can help you build community and address community needs by creating or expanding partnerships within your own community and building advocates for the social issue(s) you’re trying to address in addition to completing some projects of your own. It will use AmeriCorps NCCC as a model for how this is done.

Session Goals:

• By the end of this session, participants will have learned:
  How partnerships build community and build advocates;
• How AmeriCorps NCCC or other outside volunteer groups may be able to jumpstart or expand your partnership building.

Resources:

• Blog post: “What It’s Like to Host an AmeriCorps NCCC Team”
• Learn more about AmeriCorps NCCC in the North Central Region Request For Proposals

Biography:

Alana is an Assistant Program Director with AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) North Central Region. NCCC is a national service program for 18-24 year-olds that strengthens communities and develops leaders through team-based national and community service. She has served with NCCC for 14 years. As an Assistant Program Director, she focuses on developing projects in IL, ME, NH, VT & WI. Alana enjoys traveling, being outdoors whether that’s in the woods or in her garden, and spending time with her family.