Trailblazers

Jeffrey L. Brudney

Over the span of his long career, Jeff Brudney’s work includes over 300 publications and thousands of citations of that work on topics of nonprofits, public service, research methods – and the intersection of volunteering, nonprofit management and public administration. His work in mentoring students on the subject of volunteering has helped to create a new world of academics carrying on his work across the country. Read more

Brudney's Archived Resources

Susan J. Ellis

Susan J. Ellis was widely recognized for her knowledge, her indefatigable spirit, and her relentless promotion of volunteerism. A prolific writer, Ellis was the author or co-author of 14 books on Volunteer Management. From 1981 to 1987, she was editor-in-chief of The Journal of Volunteer Administration and was founder and editor-in-chief of e-Volunteerism (now Engage) from 2000 to 2019. She wrote more than 120 articles on Volunteer Management for dozens of publications, and wrote the national bi-monthly column, “On Volunteers,” for The NonProfit Times from 1990 to 2015.  Read more

Ellis' Archived Resources

Rick Lynch

Although many of Rick Lynch's clients were in the public and corporate sectors, Lynch instinctively understood that Leaders of Volunteers in nonprofit organizations could also benefit from similar management training. During the 1980s and 1990s, he quickly became known for his ability to help them discover practical actions to make themselves and their organizations immediately more effective. His entertaining and dynamic style made him a favorite speaker at volunteerism conferences across North America. Read more

Lynch's Archived Resources

Steve McCurley

During his long career, Steve McCurley conducted hundreds of workshops and seminars – characterized by his no nonsense, practical content delivered with plenty of dry humor. He consulted with a wide range of organizations, including American Association of Retired Persons, the US Tennis Association, Special Olympics International, the National Park Service and the Points of Light Foundation. McCurley is the author of 14 books and more than 120 articles on Volunteer Engagement, Read more

McCurley's Archived Resources

Harriet H. Naylor

Harriet H. Naylor, always known familiarly as "Hat," was one of the true pioneers in the development of Volunteer Program Management as an acknowledged field in the United States. She was consistently focused on: why volunteers are vital to a democracy; what is necessary to create an infrastructure that enables volunteers to do their best work; and how critical it is to strengthen the emerging profession of Volunteer Administration and Engagement. And she was saying these things before anyone else. Read more

Naylor's Archived Resources

Ivan Henry Scheier

Those who knew Ivan H. Scheier remember him as a cutting-edge thinker, a visionary and a humble, poetic soul who lived simply and cared deeply about the future of volunteering. Scheier was widely known for his citizen participation efforts and his "Challenge Think Tanks." He is also known as the "grandfather" of organizations known as DOVIAs (Directors of Volunteers in Agencies”), "DOV's Associations," "Councils," or "Clusters." Read more

Scheier's Archived Resources

Arlene K. Schindler

Mentor, teacher, trainer, pioneer, traveler, advocate – these are just a few of the words used to describe Arlene K. Schindler. Her professional life journey took her from the inner city of Detroit, Michigan to 137 countries around the world. And during a career that spanned 50 years,  she touched lives and supported others in their quest to harness the power of volunteerism in their communities. Read more

Schindler's Archived Resources

David Horton Smith

Acclaimed as a “titan of volunteerism scholarship,” many regard David Horton Smith as the father of the field of nonprofit and voluntary action research. Read more

David's Archived Resources

Betty Stallings

Throughout her long career, Betty Stallings loved interacting with her audiences, generously sharing her abundant energy and passion. She fed several generations of hungry practitioners through her inspiring speeches, training rich with practical information and solid wisdom, her writing and her mentoring.  Read more

Stalling's Archived Resources

Sue Vineyard

Sue's 12 years as a faculty member at the University of Colorado program, the leader of hundreds of conference workshops, and the author 20 books all contributed to the body of knowledge upon which the profession of Volunteer Engagement Management is built. Her wisdom and deep understanding of how this work connects to marketing and fundraising inspired generations of leaders in the nonprofit field. Read more

Vineyard's Archived Resources

Marlene Wilson

A true pioneer, Marlene Wilson was the first to take an interdisciplinary approach to Volunteer Management, including basic principles of psychology, communications and business administration. In 1976, she self-published The Effective Management of Volunteer Programs at a time when no publishing house was willing to take a chance on it! Similarly, Wilson was a trailblazer in identifying churches and the rest of the faith community as the “sleeping giant” of volunteerism. One of Wilson's greatest gifts to the field was the creation of the Volunteer Management Certificate program through the University of Colorado in 1972 – the first of its kind in the history of Volunteer Management. Read more

Wilson's Archived Resources