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Nina Arwitz
Chief Executive Officer
Nina joined Volunteer Ireland in November 2014. Her background is in the environmental non-profit sector where she focused on social inclusion, engaging new audiences and volunteering; as well as fundraising, campaigning and strategic development. Nina is responsible for the overall strategic direction of Volunteer Ireland, and ensuring that we deliver our mission to promote the value of volunteering and increase the range and quality of volunteering in Ireland. She works to secure diverse funding, implement good governance practices and ensure that Volunteer Ireland is an effective and efficient organisation. Nina also represents Volunteer Ireland externally to raise the profile of volunteering, works with the public sector to emphasise the importance of volunteering in delivering the government’s strategic priorities, develops partnerships and explores new opportunities for growth and innovation in order to maximise our impact.
Amy joined Volunteer Ireland in August 2015 as Communications and Advocacy Officer and was promoted to the role of Manager in December 2018. Amy’s role involves managing Volunteer Ireland’s internal and external communications and supporting the organisation’s policy initiatives and events through awareness campaigns. Amy promotes Volunteer Ireland and volunteering through media relations, marketing, social media and online communications including coordinating Volunteer Ireland’s public awareness campaign for volunteering, ‘National Volunteering Week’ – overseeing all PR and marketing activity for the event. Amy also coordinates Volunteer Ireland’s policy and advocacy projects.
Emma began working with Volunteer Ireland in September 2014 and was promoted to Operations and Development Manager in April 2015. As an experienced Account Administrator and Sales Coordinator, Emma gained experience and knowledge of the corporate world in Ireland, Canada and the United States. Emma first became involved in volunteering through Gaisce – The President’s Award, and has spent time volunteering for charities in Ireland and at a community level. Emma’s role as Operations and Development Manager involves supporting and assisting the CEO in delivering the strategic direction of Volunteer Ireland and supporting the team in Finance, HR and IT. Emma is also involved in administering I-VOL; the national database of Irish volunteering opportunities and listings.
Terri is the longest serving member of staff in the organisation and has worked in a variety of roles throughout her time here. She currently manages our Corporate Volunteering Programme where she provides networking opportunities and supports to companies in relation to Employee Volunteering. She also manages our corporate service programmes including Team Impact Days, our Business Advice professional skills share programme and our Corporate Volunteering Calendar. She oversees a number of other programme areas including our National Volunteer Management Conference, the Volunteer Ireland Awards and the Quality Standards programme for affiliate Volunteer Centres.
Stuart joined Volunteer Ireland in July 2014 and manages the National Volunteer Management & Leadership Training Programme. Stuart works to build the capacity of volunteer involving organisations to run quality volunteer programmes. His experience spans over 26 years working in the NFP sector. He has direct extensive volunteer management experience with managing volunteer teams and worked as a Volunteer Manager for a national homeless charity. Stuart leads our Erasmus+ EU programmes focusing on a variety of volunteer engagement topics. He is a lead trainer in the use of Volunteer Impact Assessment. He holds qualifications in Volunteer Management & Leadership, Teaching & Learning, Event Management, Human Resource Management, First Line Management and Health, Safety & Welfare.
Paul joined Volunteer Ireland (VI) in March 2015 as Outcome & Impacts manager. Paul’s background includes, working in the food industry, sport and quality management/assurance across a number of sectors. His role involves supporting Volunteer Centres (VCs) on all aspects of the Quality Standards Framework to embed a culture of continuous quality improvement across the national network VCs. He has a lead role in developing and maintaining VIs internal quality management system, research projects and VC support, including acting as chairperson for the Volunteering Infrastructure Quality Committee. He has been involved in volunteering for over 30 years in a variety of roles, with the highlight being a volunteer role at the Special Olympics world summer games in 2003.
Zsé joined Volunteer Ireland in November 2019 as Volunteer Centre Development Manager. She manages the establishment and starting up of new Volunteer Centres. She brings extensive experience in facilitating diverse networks and in managing volunteers both in Ireland and her native Hungary. She has a background in volunteer management training and consultancy which she practiced in Ireland, Hungary, and many other European countries including Scotland and Serbia. Zsé is passionate about volunteering and sustainable volunteer management. She is a Blood Bikes East volunteer and also volunteers with motorcycle trial clubs at their Dublin and Wicklow events.
Anna joined Volunteer Ireland in 2018 as Programme & Events Officer and is now responsible for the implementation of the new Community Volunteers programme. Backed by government and building on lessons from COVID-19, the Community Volunteers Programme aims to help ensure that Ireland is better placed to respond quickly, effectively and professionally to emergencies and local needs, through the creation of a diverse, trained and flexible group of volunteers. Before joining Volunteer Ireland Anna was an entrepreneur and business owner and has amassed years of business development experience as well as an expansive skill set in the areas of event management, design and development.
Darren joined Volunteer Ireland as a Corporate Accounts Officer in September 2016. His role involves supporting and engaging corporate employees through organising Team Impact Days; where corporate employees are matched with a non-profit organisation project to deliver one-off practical volunteering. Darren has a background in IT but made the transition into the not-for-profit sector in 2013 by volunteering with his Local Employment Service. He has since worked with other not-for-profit organisations as a volunteer and project manager.
Niamh joined Volunteer Ireland in November 2022 as the Volunteer Network Support Officer (Maternity Cover) where she provides support and coordination to the national volunteer infrastructure network. Niamh’s professional background is mainly in the non-profit sector, working as a Volunteer Manager in Our Lady’s Hospice and Care Services for many years, in addition to other non-profits (Down Syndrome Ireland, Special Olympics Ireland). She has recently spent time with her family which enabled her to volunteer and be an active member of her local community organisation and schools’parents’ association. In recent years, she has been volunteering with Saint Josephs, Shankill which is solely dedicated to those living with Dementia. She established, and continues to present with other Schools Ambassador Volunteers,aDementia Programme for Transition Year Students both online and in person in South Dublin and County Wicklow over the last three years. The aim of this initiative is to bring a better understanding of Dementia to young people to make local communitiesmore welcoming and inclusive places for everyone.
Lucie joined Volunteer Ireland in January 2021 as the Programmes and Events Officer. Her role is to develop, plan, and manage both the National Volunteer Management Conference and the Volunteer Ireland Awards. She also supports the planning and delivery of corporate programmes including Team Impact Days and Business Advice sessions.
Before joining Volunteer Ireland, Lucie worked within the film industry in her native France and became involved with the not-for-profit sector while working for festivals in Australia and the UK where she coordinated events, oversaw festivals’ logistics and managed volunteers as part of her different roles.
Vicki joined Volunteer Ireland in July 2021 as Learning and Capacity Building Officer. Her role is to enable volunteer involving organisations to develop capacity to support their volunteers. In addition to this, she is involved in the Erasmus European Projects with partners across Europe on several topics with regards to furthering volunteering in all areas.
Vicki’s professional background is mainly with Not-for-Profit organisations where she has worked closely with volunteers and has extensive training experience. She has also worked with Meath Volunteer Centre as a Volunteer Development Officer.
She is passionate about volunteering and increasing the accessibility of volunteering for the whole community. She has volunteered in a variety of roles over the last 20 years and is currently enjoying her time as a volunteer with Aware and Community Games.
Amy joined Volunteer Ireland in February 2022 as Corporate Partnership Officer. Her role involves supporting and engaging corporate employees through organising large scale volunteering projects; where corporate employees are matched with a non-profit organisation project to deliver one-off practical volunteering. Amy has worked in the non-profit sector since 2011, leading a small team in a busy Community Centre and she continues to volunteer with her local youth club. Amy is passionate about the importance of volunteering and the part it plays in in local grass roots community organisations.
Ana joined Volunteer Ireland in March 2022 as a Finance Officer. Her main role is to look after the finances of the organization, following all procedures in place and keeping the stakeholders informed in a timely manner. She has a background in accounting and auditing in her native Barcelona. In Ireland she is enrolled with different NGO’s and loves volunteering with refugees’ organizations.
Zita joined Volunteer Ireland in April 2022 as Communications and Administration Officer.
She has a professional background in non-profit public relations and digital communications. Zita is passionate about creatively communicating the values, goals, and stories of charities and non-profits. She has experience volunteering with community groups, arts organisations, and social justice campaigns.
Zita leads on Volunteer Ireland’s digital output, promoting and supporting Volunteer Ireland’s work, and celebrating volunteering through social media. She also supports Volunteer Ireland’s other communications outputs including flagship campaigns National Volunteering Week and the Volunteer Ireland Awards.