| CCVA Welcomes New Executive Director Faiza Venzant, CVA, CVRM has been appointed as Executive Director of the Council for Certification in Volunteer Administration (CCVA). Contact: Amira Barger Telephone: 714.727.5080 Email: boardchair@cvacert.org Website: cvacert.org CCVA WELCOMES NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Join the CCVA Board of Directors in welcoming Faiza Venzant U.S. and Canada, August 28, 2020 – Faiza Venzant. CVA, CVRM has been appointed as Executive Director of the Council for Certification in Volunteer Administration (CCVA). The board worked hard over the fall (2019) and spring (2020) to consider many qualified candidates and to ensure that the CCVA could continue into its future with a strong and enthusiastic leader. The Board believes we have found that leader in Faiza Venzant, CVA, CVRM. For many years now, Faiza's dedication to volunteer engagement, her passion for professional certification, and her commitment to the organization has been evident. Faiza officially assumed her role on August 1, and is working closely with Katherine Campbell, founding Executive Director, to implement a leadership transition plan. We're pleased to have Faiza join us in this role, considering her many hats with CCVA through the years, and we are excited to see where she'll lead us and CCVA. “I look forward to serving you in this role and hope that you too will consider joining a select group of approximately 1,500 individuals who have attained this sought-after international credential as demonstration of their professional excellence in mobilizing and managing volunteers.” – Faiza About Faiza Venzant Faiza Venzant CVA, CVRM is the General Manager, Volunteer Development at the YMCA of Greater Toronto and a former Board Member with the Council for Certification in Volunteer Administration (CCVA). With 20 years of leadership experience in volunteer engagement, she continues this work with a goal of improving equity and access to volunteerism and increasing diversity amongst professional leaders of volunteers. 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 up. 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 70’s 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 a leader in volunteer engagement for the last 18 years speaking, facilitating and learning from others internationally. She is currently General Manager, Volunteer Development at the YMCA of Greater Toronto and maintains her CVA and CVRM certifications in the field of volunteer engagement. She is an active member and volunteer of the Toronto Association for Volunteer Administrators (TAVA), Volunteer Management Professionals of Canada (VMPC), Professional Association of Volunteer Leaders – Ontario (PAVR-O), Association for Leaders in Volunteer Engagement (AL!VE) and North American YMCA Development Organization (NAYDO.) In 2020, Faiza was the recipient of TAVA’s Innovation Award. In 2019, she was the recipient of the inaugural IMPACT award in Canada for Exemplary Volunteer Leadership. She received the Professional Association of Volunteer Leaders -Ontario’s (PAVRO) Linda Buchanan Award in 2013 and has twice received their President’s Award for contributions to the profession of volunteer engagement. Faiza is passionate about equity and access amongst volunteers and leaders of volunteers. She believes strongly that a community with a thriving volunteer base improves the overall quality of life and health of all its members. About CCVA The CVA credential was developed in the early 1980s as a professional development tool for individual practitioners who lead volunteer engagement in a wide variety of nonprofit, government, and corporate entities. The credential, which entitles certificants to use the designation “CVA”, is the only one in this field that is recognized internationally. It is awarded upon passing a two-hour examination testing knowledge and application of skills related to volunteer resources management. Successful CVA candidates also pledge to work within the professional code of ethics.Growing recognition of the value of skilled leadership in volunteer engagement has brought a steady increase in the number of candidates each year. Most CVAs are located in the United States and Canada, and the program has attracted candidates from Australia, Bolivia, China, New Zealand, Japan, Slovakia, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, and Zambia. ### If you would like more information about the Council for Certification in Volunteer Administration,please contact CCVA at (412) 901-9598 or execdir@cvacert.org. Published: 08/31/20 |