Jessica Pang-Parks - Self-Advocacy for Leaders of Volunteers 

Self-advocacy at work goes deeper than speaking up. You can use self-advocacy to help your manager and organization better understand you. You can also use self-advocacy to get better compensation or resources. The session will start by examining how your work is influenced by frameworks entrenched in our sector's "standard practices". You will be asked to challenge ways of thinking that may make you uncomfortable. The session will use Mentimeter, allowing participants to anonymously share insights and brainstorm opportunities. Together, we'll become more intentional and effective in self-advocacy.

Charlene Dishaw - Liberating Structures: Tools for Engagement

Participants will actively partake in three Liberating Structures to discover how Liberating Structures can be use with volunteer teams to unleash ideas, create innovation and solve problems. Liberating Structures are useful tools to engage groups to participate in decision making and build teams, leading to better retention. By the end of the workshop participants will be able to lead a Liberating Structures session in their organization.

Michelle Mungar Lumley - Examining the Youth Experience

Youth are continually reimagining the world. Their ability to inspire, motive and coach us is incredible. Engaging youth within volunteer programs builds capacity and inspires our communities, but even as we actively recruit youth volunteers, many volunteer programs still struggle with the retention of youth. This session will use real world examples to examine what a successful youth volunteer program looks like and provide opportunity for Leaders of Volunteers to start brainstorming ways to adapt their programs to meet the unique needs of youth volunteers. Youth (ages 13-17) have different motivations than past generations, and we need to adapt our recruitment, engagement, and the volunteer roles to successfully support their involvement. Participants will leave with an understanding of their importance in the youth experience, and how they have the ability to motivate and inspire youth to apply, volunteer and stick around for longer. Youth are capable of anything and everything, Leaders of Volunteers can have a huge impact on the trajectory of youth volunteers' success.

Sammy Feilchenfeld & Adriane Beaudry - Opening the Door to More: Identifying and Removing Barriers to Volunteer Engagement Success

What is a barrier? Whether real or perceived, our processes, approaches and strategies can create or perpetuate obstacles in volunteer engagement. In this session, we’ll explore some of the barriers you and your volunteers may face, and share a collaborative framework for building solutions. Whether a barrier is surface-level or digs deeper into the need for systemic change, we’ll discuss how you play a vital role in making changes to welcome more volunteers into your organization. Come ready to learn and play through this mix of scenarios, discussions and interactive learning.