Interview withJoan Brown, Volunteer and Employee Programs Manager

Questions/Responses from Joan Brown, Volunteer and Employee Programs Manager – Marin County, California:

1. How long have you been in the field of volunteer management and what prompted your retirement?
I was a volunteer volunteer coordinator on many community projects in my 20’s and early 30’s, generally in land use and conservation activities, as well as campaigns for local politicians. I did these activities while I was a full time teacher and later as a substitute teacher after my son was born. As my son grew older and more independent, I wanted to work with adults but had no idea how that would be. I prepared a resume that had one line, “Elementary School Teacher 1964-1979” and my accomplishments in my volunteer work. In January of 1979 I was hired to see if anyone would volunteer for local government in Marin County, California. The answer has been a resounding yes, and last year Civic Center Volunteers provided more than $14 million in services. For more than 32 years, I have thrived on an amazingly satisfying career where I’ve been able to “bust through the bureaucracy” to help make wonderful things happen for the community, staff, programs, and volunteers. In addition to volunteer management, I’ve also been responsible for the Employee Recognition Program, and founded and served as Editor-in-Chief of the employee newsletter. I feel truly blessed to have worked with so many people from the community and in all County departments.

I hadn’t expected to retire this year. However, with great pressure on the budgets, and the priority to cut “extra hire” positions first, the “extra hire” administrative support position (which was caught in a budget freeze the last 4 years) to my programs is slated to be eliminated the end of this year. I decided I’d rather spend my energies in other directions.

2. What was your proudest and most inspiring moment in your career?
Programmatically, there have been milestones. In 1987 there was a proposal to reduce my full time position to 10 hours or some such. The press got a hold of it and ran amazing stories. Hundreds of unsolicited letters poured into the Board of Supervisors. It was really too much. I began asking people NOT to write letters! The Board kept the position full time and the headlines and editorials in several papers said, “Joan’s Job Saved.”

In 2000 Civic Center Volunteers received the first Acts of Caring Award from NACo in Washington, D.C. (NAVPLG co-founder Dawn Matheny had encouraged me to apply). It was gratifying to have the program recognized at the national level. In the same year I was awarded The Volunteer Coordinator of the Year by the Association of Volunteer Administration (AVA), which deeply touched me because it was peer nominated.

Most recently, two weeks ago in budget hearings, hearing every member of the Board of Supervisors state publicly that they want to maintain a strong volunteer program “even though Joan Brown will be leaving a huge hole” was a gratifying milestone as I leave my legacy of work to continue with the County of Marin.

But the “proudest and most inspiring moments” in my career happen in the small, daily victories, when someone says to me, “Joan, you saved my life… Joan, you encouraged my own personal growth….Joan, I never would have ”X” without you”….and so on. I know you all have similar heartwarming successes as a result of your committed advocacy and face-to-face personal interactions.

3. How has the field of volunteer management changed for you since the time you started in your position and how do you think it will look in the future?
In the late 1970s many volunteer organizations were still stuck in the stereotype “pink lady” –type volunteer jobs only. I believe the organizations that will continue to thrive will be those that do targeted recruiting and reflect the demographics of their communities. When I began CCV in 1979, I did very specific, targeted recruitment for a broad range of jobs. Back then, re-entry women were our biggest target audience. In each economic downturn we’ve attracted professional and highly skilled people of all ages as they look for permanent employment and engage in meaningful volunteer work. It’s also provided an opportunity for staff to stretch and grow as they supervised and interacted with volunteers. In the early years, I was pointed to as a radical trailblazer by advertising volunteer jobs in the “help wanted” section of the daily paper. Now, no one advertises much of anything in the paper and many organizations are doing targeted recruitment on line and with social networking. I believe volunteer management is more businesslike now and that organizations are thinking more broadly in their utilization of volunteers. I am concerned that with budget challenges organizations will lose sight of the fact that their volunteers can help sustain their work in the toughest of times. Another concern is the national organization/conference has not yet realized the full potential of local government volunteer managers and specifically NAVPLG. And, I am heartened that more colleges and universities are providing education in non-profit/volunteer management and that today’s young people have service as a priority. Last week I actually interviewed a sophomore from Oregon State who wants to make volunteer management her career! When I told her there were national organizations of volunteer managers, she lit up!

4. How has NAVPLG impacted your role in volunteer management?
NAVPLG has provided me with unsurpassed colleagues who speak my same language, share their ideas and experience, and understand at a gut level our mutual challenges. It was exciting for me to be one of the “founding mothers,” because it gave us a channel to connect with local government peers nationally and present meaningful workshops and resources. I so admire and respect the work of my NAVPLG peers. It’s been my professional home. I thank you for it.

5. Most importantly...how do you plan to spend your retirement?
I’ve done pretty much what I wanted to do my last 32+ years, lucky me! I want to be able to continue to make a difference. I plan to be involved in my community and beyond as a consultant and volunteer, engaging in volunteer management and general good works. With that as the core, and more free time, I look forward to more time with my adorable grandchildren, reading lazily in the sun, regular exercise, more travel, not-too-serious gardening, expanding my mind through classes, lectures, and museums, more time with friends, and who knows what else!


Interview withJoan Brown, Volunteer and Employee Programs Manager Questions/Responses from Joan Brown, Volunteer and Employee Programs Manager – Marin County, California: 1. How long have you been in the field of volunteer management and what prompted your retirement? I was a volunteer volunteer coordinator on many community projects in my 20’s and early 30’s, generally in land use and conservation activities, as well as campaigns for local politicians. I did these activities while I was a full time teacher and later as a substitute teacher after my son was born. As my son grew older and more independent, I wanted to work with adults but had no idea how that would be. I prepared a resume that had one line, “Elementary School Teacher 1964-1979” and my accomplishments in my volunteer work. In January of 1979 I was hired to see if anyone would volunteer for local government in Marin County, California. The answer has been a resounding yes, and last year Civic Center Volunteers provided more than $14 million in services. For more than 32 years, I have thrived on an amazingly satisfying career where I’ve been able to “bust through the bureaucracy” to help make wonderful things happen for the community, staff, programs, and volunteers. In addition to volunteer management, I’ve also been responsible for the Employee Recognition Program, and founded and served as Editor-in-Chief of the employee newsletter. I feel truly blessed to have worked with so many people from the community and in all County departments. I hadn’t expected to retire this year. However, with great pressure on the budgets, and the priority to cut “extra hire” positions first, the “extra hire” administrative support position (which was caught in a budget freeze the last 4 years) to my programs is slated to be eliminated the end of this year. I decided I’d rather spend my energies in other directions. 2. What was your proudest and most inspiring moment in your career? Programmatically, there have been milestones. In 1987 there was a proposal to reduce my full time position to 10 hours or some such. The press got a hold of it and ran amazing stories. Hundreds of unsolicited letters poured into the Board of Supervisors. It was really too much. I began asking people NOT to write letters! The Board kept the position full time and the headlines and editorials in several papers said, “Joan’s Job Saved.” In 2000 Civic Center Volunteers received the first Acts of Caring Award from NACo in Washington, D.C. (NAVPLG co-founder Dawn Matheny had encouraged me to apply). It was gratifying to have the program recognized at the national level. In the same year I was awarded The Volunteer Coordinator of the Year by the Association of Volunteer Administration (AVA), which deeply touched me because it was peer nominated. Most recently, two weeks ago in budget hearings, hearing every member of the Board of Supervisors state publicly that they want to maintain a strong volunteer program “even though Joan Brown will be leaving a huge hole” was a gratifying milestone as I leave my legacy of work to continue with the County of Marin. But the “proudest and most inspiring moments” in my career happen in the small, daily victories, when someone says to me, “Joan, you saved my life… Joan, you encouraged my own personal growth….Joan, I never would have ”X” without you”….and so on. I know you all have similar heartwarming successes as a result of your committed advocacy and face-to-face personal interactions. 3. How has the field of volunteer management changed for you since the time you started in your position and how do you think it will look in the future? In the late 1970s many volunteer organizations were still stuck in the stereotype “pink lady” –type volunteer jobs only. I believe the organizations that will continue to thrive will be those that do targeted recruiting and reflect the demographics of their communities. When I began CCV in 1979, I did very specific, targeted recruitment for a broad range of jobs. Back then, re-entry women were our biggest target audience. In each economic downturn we’ve attracted professional and highly skilled people of all ages as they look for permanent employment and engage in meaningful volunteer work. It’s also provided an opportunity for staff to stretch and grow as they supervised and interacted with volunteers. In the early years, I was pointed to as a radical trailblazer by advertising volunteer jobs in the “help wanted” section of the daily paper. Now, no one advertises much of anything in the paper and many organizations are doing targeted recruitment on line and with social networking. I believe volunteer management is more businesslike now and that organizations are thinking more broadly in their utilization of volunteers. I am concerned that with budget challenges organizations will lose sight of the fact that their volunteers can help sustain their work in the toughest of times. Another concern is the national organization/conference has not yet realized the full potential of local government volunteer managers and specifically NAVPLG. And, I am heartened that more colleges and universities are providing education in non-profit/volunteer management and that today’s young people have service as a priority. Last week I actually interviewed a sophomore from Oregon State who wants to make volunteer management her career! When I told her there were national organizations of volunteer managers, she lit up! 4. How has NAVPLG impacted your role in volunteer management? NAVPLG has provided me with unsurpassed colleagues who speak my same language, share their ideas and experience, and understand at a gut level our mutual challenges. It was exciting for me to be one of the “founding mothers,” because it gave us a channel to connect with local government peers nationally and present meaningful workshops and resources. I so admire and respect the work of my NAVPLG peers. It’s been my professional home. I thank you for it. 5. Most importantly...how do you plan to spend your retirement? I’ve done pretty much what I wanted to do my last 32+ years, lucky me! I want to be able to continue to make a difference. I plan to be involved in my community and beyond as a consultant and volunteer, engaging in volunteer management and general good works. With that as the core, and more free time, I look forward to more time with my adorable grandchildren, reading lazily in the sun, regular exercise, more travel, not-too-serious gardening, expanding my mind through classes, lectures, and museums, more time with friends, and who knows what else!
NAVPLG - Special Addition