Volunteer Conference 2022
Be part of the Volunteer Adminstrators of the Southern Tier’s annual conference, entirely dedicated to volunteer development, engagement, and management.
United Way of Broome County is excited to partner with the Volunteer Administrators of the Southern Tier to bring you the Annual Volunteer Conference. This year’s conference will be fully virtual, with a full day of conference sessions on Tuesday, May 24, 2022.
REGISTRATION NOW OPEN.
REGISTRATION CLOSES ON MAY 23, AT 4:00 PM.
TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2022
9:00am - 10:15am: Volunteer Management through a DEI Lens
9:00-9:15 Welcome Speech- Lorianne Welch, United Way of Broome County
9:15-10:15 Volunteer Management through a DEI Lens, Dr. Leon John, Executive Director of Diversity and Inclusion Cedar Crest College
This session is to help stakeholders learn how to supervise volunteers from diverse backgrounds, and the role that microaggressions, implicit bias, and stereotypes can negatively affect productivity. Participants will have an opportunity to listen, share and engage with one another and the presenter through a multimedia presentation.
Bio: Leon John, Jr., Ph.D. was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., to the son of immigrant parents from the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. Dr. John spent his formative years in Trinidad and Tobago, but he had the best of both worlds as he spent summers and other holidays in the United States with his parents.
In 1995, Dr. John moved full time to the United States to pursue his bachelor’s degree. In 2019, he graduated with a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration with a concentration in Human Development from Marywood University. His professional experience is exclusive to higher education, where he has worked in various departments that include enrollment management, student affairs, alumni engagement, academic affairs, and university advancement. His published dissertation: Self-Efficacy among Students of Color at Predominantly White Institutions of Higher Education in Northeastern Pennsylvania contains insight to the issues that the ever increasing population of students of color face at colleges/universities in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
Dr. John has delivered several presentations on the issues that students of color face on college campuses with particular focus on implicit biases, microagressions and campus climate. He was the former co-chair of the campus climate committee of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee of East Stroudsburg University, and is an Executive Committee member of the NAACP-Wilkes Barre Charter #2306. He is currently the Executive Director of Diversity and Inclusion at Cedar Crest College, an adjunct instructor at Penn State University-Scranton, and does consulting work for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives in the public and private sector. He lives in Pittston, Pennsylvania with his wife, Luciana and son, Kian.
10:45am - 11:45am: Navigating a Virtual Volunteer Program
Bio: Pamela is the Outreach & Volunteer Manager with the Alzheimer’s Association, Central New York Chapter. At the Chapter, she coordinates the volunteer and outreach initiatives for fourteen Central New York Counties from the Canadian to the Pennsylvania borders, as far west as Cayuga County and as far east as Herkimer County.Previously she served as the Cayuga County Manager for the American Red Cross of CNY and Director of Educational Programs for Junior Achievement of CNY. As the Director of Educational Programs, she oversaw the implementation of K-12 financial literacy programs serving thirteen Central New York counties and managed 500+ volunteers. Pamela has over 25 years of experience working with volunteers.
She is also an active volunteer that has served on many CNY boards and committees; currently serving with the Auburn Rotary Club, and “Warm the Children” (which provides NEW coats for children in need) in Cayuga County. Pamela holds a Master’s in Educational Administration from SUNY Buffalo. She & her husband Charlie, live in a 100-year-old farmhouse in Cayuga County with their three young adult children.
12:30pm - 1:30pm: Leveraging Your Volunteer Experience for Professional Development
12:30 pm -1:30 pm: Leveraging Your Volunteer Experience for Professional Development– Jessica Lane-Rwabukwisi, Career Consultant at Fleishman Center for Career and Professional Development, Binghamton University.
This interactive workshop explores attendee strengths, skills, and experiences in order to look at future professional and personal endeavors. Creating a special identity for the promotion of an individual’s readiness for the next stage of life is the main goal of this session, with a focus on how individuals can use their volunteer experience(s) in resume and relationship building.