Volunteering Bay of Plenty has appointed Vanessa Lister as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
She commenced her role in September and brings more than 16 years of experience in executive leadership roles, developing and implementing strategic and operational plans in the Not for Profit (NFP) sector. She replaces the prior General Manager Lisa Ford.
The Board of Trustees created the new CEO position, reflecting the organisation’s ambitious plans to deliver a range of new services and resources for NFP’s and volunteers that educate, advocate and enable excellence in volunteering throughout the Bay of Plenty.
Vanessa is well placed to lead the delivery of Volunteering Bay of Plenty’s renewed strategy with her executive leadership experience, strategy delivery and proven results increasing financial sustainability of NFP’s. Her most recent roles held CEO and General Manager titles spanning aviation, corporate services and vocational education & training sectors.
Vanessa says, “I am excited to be leading Volunteering Bay of Plenty into the next season and maximise opportunities to showcase the many benefits that Volunteering brings to the individual, society, the environment and the economy. I look forward to meeting everyone and making new connections as we wear the CAPE to Connect, Advocate, Protect and Educate.”
Originally hailing from a heterogeneous, disadvantaged South African ethnic group, her experience as a migrant has shaped Vanessa’s commitment to building strong community connections through volunteering, and supporting underserved communities.
Tony Snow, Chair of the Board of Trustees, believes her personal and professional experiences will bring a fresh dimension to Volunteering Bay of Plenty.
“With Volunteering Bay of Plenty enabling organisations to manage and maintain volunteers effectively and fairly, Vanessa’s skillset, experience, passion and personality will help drive the organisation towards its goals.
“With event management also in the mix – we look forward to bringing the COVID-19 affected VolFest back to the fore and seeing how this shapes up in the near future.”
With current border restrictions, Vanessa will work remotely from Australia and will then be based in Tauranga. Vanessa is excited about joining her family in the Bay as soon as possible.
About Volunteering Bay of Plenty
Volunteering BOP supports volunteering in the region around four main objectives:
To make volunteering more visible and valued in the community;
To enable every individual, whatever their background or ability, to have the opportunity to contribute to community life through volunteering and to benefit from the experience;
To ensure that organisations across all sectors have the information, skills and know-how to benefit from volunteering activity; and
To build and maintain quality volunteering support services that champion volunteering.
Volunteering BOP aims to be recognised by all sections of the community as a one-stop volunteering shop, attracting a wide range of volunteers and providing professional information on volunteering issues.
The chief aim is to increase the quality and quantity of volunteering in the area by providing information, support and guidance to potential and existing volunteers, and to organisations both in the not-for-profit sector and the business sector.
