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Catherine Johnstone is CEO of Royal Voluntary Service. In this episode, Catherine talks about the genesis and launch of the GoVo volunteering platform, what's happened since it was launched in October 2025, and where things might be going next.

Breauna Dorelus is the Founder and Cause Consultant at Connecting the Cause, a consultancy dedicated to dismantling harmful volunteer practices implemented by organizations and volunteers specifically towards Black and brown communities. She started her career as an AmeriCorps member and spent 10+ years in various volunteer management roles in humanitarian aid efforts, refugee resettlement and ministry. Breauna believes in community inclusion in all aspects of the volunteer process, and has dedicated her work to ensuring that service is centered around co-dreaming and not harmful charity. For the past 8+ years as a consultant, she's served as a keynote, speaker, session and webinar host, trainer, facilitator, and builder. Breauna has worked on multiple projects helping co-create ethos, philosophy, and practices for those who wish to walk alongside others. Her heart work is connected to seeing others have moments of reckoning and reimagination as they move from charity to Co-Dreaming. In her spare time, she loves playing with dinosaurs with her 4 and 3 year old, thrifting, and having a hot matcha latte. Music by Zen_Man from Pixabay Thanks to Awesome Panda for their work editing this episode. Find out more at https://www.awesomepandauk.com

Lindsay Baker is a CVA-certified volunteer engagement expert with 25 years of experience leading volunteers in a variety of settings including universities, museums, special events, volunteer centres, and tourist attractions. Currently, Lindsay is the Senior Director, Volunteer Resources for the BC Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (BC SPCA), where she supports 3,300 volunteers at 35 locations across the province. Lindsay is a lifelong learner who enjoys exchanging knowledge, insights, and experience with other volunteer management professionals. As a past president of the Volunteer Management Professionals of Canada (VMPC), Lindsay is well-versed in volunteer management standards and industry best practices. In her role as an Instructor for Conestoga College’s virtual Volunteer Management Certificate Program, she equips non-profit leaders with the tools and training they need to successfully engage volunteers. When she is not volunteering herself, you are likely to find Lindsay listening to a book while walking her rescue dog, Phil. Reach out to Lindsay Baker, CVA, on LinkedIn - she is always up for a coffee chat with colleagues across the globe. Music by Zen_Man from Pixabay Thanks to Awesome Panda for their work editing this episode. Find out more at https://www.awesomepandauk.com

Mark Freeman is the Chief Executive of Cambridge Council for Voluntary Service (CCVS). He joined CCVS in October 2011 after working at Skills Third Sector, a national organisation promoting the importance of learning and development to charities and voluntary organisations. He has extensive experience working in the sector at local, regional, and national levels. He has also been a trustee for a number of organisations both in Cambridge and nationally. Mark has a Masters in Business Administration from the Open University and Post Grad Diplomas in Development Management and in Housing Management. In his spare time, Mark is a father to two girls (which takes up most of his time) as well as a trustee at Camtrust, he is also involved with a number of groups in the village he lives in. Most Sunday mornings you can find him volunteering at the Cambridge Junior Parkrun at Milton Country Park. Music by Zen_Man from Pixabay Thanks to Awesome Panda for their work editing this episode. Find out more at https://www.awesomepandauk.com

Gabriella Civico is from the UK, but lived in Spain and Portugal for many years before moving to Belgium and becoming a Belgian citizen. She has a degree in Social Policy and Education from the University of Surrey (UK), and a Masters in Education in E-learning from the University of Hull (UK). She worked with CEV in her role as Project Manager for the EYV2011 Alliance from July 2010 until the project’s completion in March 2012, when she became CEV Director. There, she takes a leading role in advocating for better volunteering policies, contributing her expertise at the European level in various European Union expert & advisory groups, such as EQF, Europass, Mobility of Young Volunteers, as well as in the European Solidarity Corps Resource Centre Advisory Group. She also represents CEV in the EESC Liaison Group for European Civil Society Networks and has been further involved in establishing Civil Society Europe in 2014 where she is currently the President. Music by Zen_Man from Pixabay Thanks to Awesome Panda for their work editing this episode. Find out more at https://www.awesomepandauk.com

From the initial spark of an idea in 2008 to a platform now empowering over 600,000 volunteers, Chris Martin is CEO and founder of TeamKinetic. After studying a Masters in Sports Science at Leeds Metropolitan University and realising that he was ill-equipped for a ‘real job’, he set about building a company that did some good in the world and was a fun place to work. Most recently, Chris has embarked on a new passion project alongside his TeamKinetic work, setting up a not-for-profit and a Community of Practice to advance the volunteer management profession's understanding and adoption of digital. Music by Zen_Man from Pixabay Thanks to Awesome Panda for their work editing this episode. Find out more at https://www.awesomepandauk.com

Sarah has been a volunteer in a range of roles since she was a teenager and has worked in the volunteering sector for over 15 years. She supported volunteers and volunteer-involving organisations at Fife Voluntary Action for five years before acting as the national volunteering lead for two Scottish charities – Children First and Shelter Scotland. During this time, Sarah was an active member, and latterly the chair, of the Scottish Volunteering Forum. Sarah became the Senior Policy Officer at Volunteer Scotland – Scotland’s national centre for volunteering - in 2022, advocating for the strategic contribution and interests of volunteers with Scottish decision-makers. Sarah recently moved to Voluntary Health Scotland as their Policy and Public Affairs Lead. Music by Zen_Man from Pixabay Thanks to Awesome Panda for their work editing this episode. Find out more at https://www.awesomepandauk.com

Denise has been Chief Executive with Volunteer Now since August 2017 and prior to that Director of Engagement since 2010. She has extensive experience in supporting volunteer involvement. She has wide ranging expertise in public and organisational volunteering policy development, volunteering research and supporting good practice in volunteering. She is experienced in third sector governance issues through many years working at a senior level in the voluntary and community sector. Denise is an active volunteer for Portadown YMCA, Armagh Rural Transport and Belfast Central Mission. Music by Zen_Man from Pixabay Thanks to Awesome Panda for their work editing this episode. Find out more at https://www.awesomepandauk.com

Tony is the founder and CEO of Better Impact, the creators of Volunteer Impact software. In the late nineties. Tony founded a residential hospice in his hometown and, when looking for volunteer management software for the hospice, he discovered that none was web-based. He offered to build and donate something bespoke for the hospice and that began the journey that has led to organizations in multiple countries and in four languages using Better Impact software. As the need for increasing the security and privacy of volunteer data has grown, Tony has kept up to date with current and emerging practices in the area and is happy to share them with Leaders of Volunteers whenever he can. https://www.betterimpact.com https://welcome.betterimpact.com/ditch_the_spreadsheet https://www.betterimpact.com/BSPC Music by Zen_Man from Pixabay Thanks to Awesome Panda for their work editing this episode. Find out more at https://www.awesomepandauk.com

From a young age, Faiza Venzant's parents instilled a strong sense of volunteerism in herself and her two older brothers. They, as immigrants to Canada from Uganda in the early 70s made a successful transition into Canadian life with the help of many generous volunteers. A volunteer herself from a very young age, she has been an advocate for volunteer engagement and excellence in volunteer management for over 20 years. As a facilitator for the Community Action Poverty Simulation, Faiza is passionate about equity and access amongst volunteers and leaders of volunteers. Faiza immigrated to the United States in 2021 and now serves as the Executive Director with the Council for Certification in Volunteer Administration and an active member and volunteer with Association for Leaders in Volunteer Engagement (AL!VE.) She has been a CVA (Certified in Volunteer Administration) since 2016. In 2018, Faiza published her first children’s book entitled, "My Mamma Wants to Eat Me Up!". As a mother of two young boys, she has not actually eaten any of her children. Learn more about the Council for Certification in Volunteer Administration at www.cvacert.org Read more about the ADEVI research at https://cvacert.org/adevi/ Music by Zen_Man from Pixabay Thanks to Awesome Panda for their work editing this episode. Find out more at https://www.awesomepandauk.com

Sarah has expertise in volunteer involvement and not-for-profit strategy and governance. Sarah is the National Strategy Advisor at Volunteering Australia and recently led the development of Australia’s first National Strategy for Volunteering in a decade. This year, Sarah is commencing her Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Clinical Psychology at the University of Western Australia, researching the relationship between volunteering and ‘mattering’. She holds degrees in Arts, Psychology, and Law. Sarah is also a passionate volunteer in animal welfare and mental health. You can find out more about the Australian National Volunteering Strategy at https://www.volunteeringaustralia.org/get-involved/national-strategy-for-volunteering/ Music by Zen_Man from Pixabay Thanks to Awesome Panda for their work editing this episode. Find out more at https://www.awesomepandauk.com

Gethyn has spent over 20 years working in the voluntary and community sector across England and Wales in fields as diverse as sport, youth, environment and disability. Specialising in volunteering initiatives for the past decade he’s worked on strategy for the London 2012 legacy, within central government at the height of the Covid pandemic and run national programmes at Volunteering Matters. A freelancer since 2020, Gethyn now focuses on helping non-profits to develop their business, capture their impact and enhance their volunteer programmes. In recent times he has supported the roll out of a range of national, high-profile volunteering initiatives, including the Vision for Volunteering and The Big Help Out. The diversity of these approaches to volunteering provides the thread that now runs through his work - a belief that volunteering is largely still misunderstood or under-valued, but that by engaging in all of its forms we can help raise it to a level of appreciation and awareness that its social value clearly justifies. https://www.gethynwilliams.net Music by Zen_Man from Pixabay Thanks to Awesome Panda for their work editing this episode. Find out more at https://www.awesomepandauk.com

As President of VQ Volunteer Strategies, Beth Steinhorn partners with organizations and their leadership to increase impact through strategic and innovative engagement. The author of multiple books and articles – including serving as co-editor of the recently published book "Transforming Disruption to Impact: Rethinking Volunteer Engagement for a Rapidly Changing World" – she is part of the national conversation about strategic engagement, frequently provides training on the topic, and consults with organizations throughout the US and Canada. Transforming Disruption To Impact — https://disruptiontoimpact.com Leighty Foundation materials on investing in volunteer engagement — http://www.leightyfoundation.org/volunteer-engagement/invest-volunteer-engagement/ Initiative For Strategic Volunteer Engagement — https://strategicvolunteerengagement.org Music by Zen_Man from Pixabay Thanks to Awesome Panda for their work editing this episode. Find out more at https://www.awesomepandauk.com

Martin J Cowling is passionate about effective change, leadership and impact. He has been a volunteer, hands-on manager, leader, researcher, and consultant working with very small grassroots organisations through to large social purpose organisations, corporates and governments. He works with clients in Australia, New Zealand, Asia, Europe, UK and the USA. He led the Office of the Not-for-Profit Sector for the Australian government and helped establish the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profit Commission (ACNC) in 2013. Martin is a skilled presenter, ranked as one of the top 100 speakers on philanthropy by Philanthropy 101. He believes that people are the key to an organisation's success and is passionate about ensuring that staff (paid and unpaid) have mutually beneficial relationships and contribute to making lasting positive change. Martin is a trusted partner for organisations, offering a comprehensive range of services to empower leaders, strengthen teams, and drive impactful change. Through personalised coaching, training, resource mobilisation support, and strategic guidance, he equips organisations with the tools, knowledge, and networks they need to achieve lasting impact, organisational excellence, and social change. Music by Zen_Man from Pixabay Thanks to Awesome Panda for their work editing this episode. Find out more at https://www.awesomepandauk.com

Stuart is the Learning and Capacity Building Manager with Volunteer Ireland. Previously he was Volunteer Manager with a leading homeless charity and the manager of a Volunteer Centre for several years. Stuart has worked in a range of roles in the third sector since and has a background in youth work. He has extensive direct Volunteer management experience with managing volunteer teams of over 1,430 volunteers. He is committed to volunteerism, and to fostering a vibrant and active community, where everyone can volunteer without restrictions, regardless of background or capacity, and achieve full participation by their voluntary activity. Connect with Stuart Email: [email protected] X / Twitter: @StuartGarland | @VoluntIreland LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/StuartGarland Web: www.volunteer.ie/training Music by Zen_Man from Pixabay Thanks to Awesome Panda for their work editing this episode. Find out more at https://www.awesomepandauk.com