Meet More Awesome Conference Speakers

Our speakers are so great they couldn’t be confined to one post alone. We are honored to have these inspiring people join us at the National Conference on Volunteering and Service. Don’t miss your chance to learn from innovators in a variety of fields making an impact through service and volunteering this June. Check out a few more incredible speakers who will join us in Chicago.

Laura Ling, Journalist, E! Investigates host, co-author, “Somewhere Inside”

Closing Session 3118 How Citizen Service Strengthens Communities

Laura Ling is the host and reporter on “E! Investigates,” a documentary series on the E! Network, which explores topics such as teen suicide and the challenges faced by military spouses. Ling also worked as a correspondent reporting on crucial issues from around the world. She has reported from dozens of countries and has covered subjects including slave labor in the Amazon, Mexico’s drug war, Internet censorship in China and women’s rights in Turkey. In March 2009, while reporting on the trafficking of North Korean women, Ling was detained by North Korean soldiers along the Chinese-North Korean border. She and her colleague Euna Lee were arrested and held captive in North Korea for 140 days before being granted a special pardon and returning to the United States. She has since sought to shine a light on the issue of trafficked women as well as to bring greater attention to the plight of other imprisoned journalists around the world.

Dikembe Mutombo, NBA Global Ambassador, chairman and president of the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation

Honored with USA WEEKEND Magazine’s “Most Caring Athlete Award,” and from FOXSports.com as the most generous athlete in the world, NBA All-Star Mutombo of the Houston Rockets has long been dedicated to improving the health, education and quality of life for the people in his birthplace, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Created in Atlanta, Ga. in 1997, the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation is attempting to eradicate many childhood diseases that have virtually disappeared in developed countries while those diseases are still life threatening to children in the Congo every day.

Jenné Myers, Chief Service Officer, City of Chicago

Session 3115 Civics Service: Helping Drive Economies Through Action

Jenné Myers was appointed in 2010 to lead Chicago’s participation in Cities of Service, a national civic initiative launched by the Rockefeller Foundation and the mayors of New York, Chicago and other major urban centers that now has more than 100 communities participating all across the country. As the first-ever Chief Service Officer for Chicago, her charge is to develop and implement a citywide plan for increasing volunteerism and utilizing volunteers to address some of the city’s greatest needs. The service plan and campaign she has developed is called One Good Deed Chicago.

Craig Newmark, founder, craigslist and craigconnects

Session 2961* Prevailing Trends and Effective Solutions
Session 3144* iService: Technology and Media Solutions that Serve and Engage the Military Community
Session 2903 Civic Fellows Leadership Exchange

Craig Newmark founded craigslist, the web-based platform that fundamentally changed classified advertising. Since its founding in 1995, craigslist has become one of the Internet’s 10 most-visited English language sites. In early 2011 Newmark launched craigconnects, his initiative to link up everyone on the planet using the Internet to bear witness to good efforts and encourage the same behavior in others.

Neil Nicoll, president and CEO, YMCA of the USA

Neil Nicoll is the 13th person to lead the 165 year old YMCA movement in the United States. He joined Y-USA following a combined 26 years as president and CEO of the YMCA of Greater Seattle and YMCA of Greater Worcester (Mass.) Nicoll currently serves as a Trustee of Springfield College, Trustee of America’s Promise Alliance and as a member of the Board of Directors of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce and Independent Sector. In addition, he is a member of Leadership 18 and a past board member of the National Assembly.

Michelle Nunn, CEO, Points of Light

Opening Session 3112 A New Generation of Service

Michelle Nunn is the CEO of Points of Light and co-founder of HandsOn Network. Points of Light inspires, equips and mobilizes people to take action that changes the world. At Points of Light, Nunn leads the organization in engaging millions of volunteers each year to use their time, talent, voice and money to solve the pressing issues of our time. She has served on the President’s Council on Service and Civic Engagement and as a co-convener of the Service Nation Coalition and Re-Imagining Service. The NonProfit Times has named Nunn to its annual “Power and Influence Top 50” list of change agents from the nonprofit sector for four consecutive years.

Eboo Patel, founder and president, Interfaith Youth Core

Session 3126 America’s Sunday Supper

Named by US News & World Report as one of America’s Best Leaders of 2009, Eboo Patel is the founder and president of Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC), a Chicago-based organization building the global interfaith youth movement. Author of the award-winning book Acts of Faith, Patel is also a regular contributor to the Washington Post, USA Today and CNN. He served on President Obama’s inaugural Advisory Council of the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships.

Brian Reich, author, “Shift and Reset: Strategies for Addressing Serious Issues in a Connected Society”

Session 2979 Books and Brew – Brian Reich’s “Shift and Reset”

Brian Reich is well known for his expertise in new media, Web 2.0, social networks, mobile, community, ecommerce, brand marketing, cause branding and more. Reich is the author of “Shift & Reset: Strategies for Addressing Serious Issues in a Connected Society.” Reich contributes as a Fast Company Expert, hosts a regular podcast discussion about the impact of media and technology on society and teaches consumer behavior and marketing strategy in the graduate school of communications at Columbia University

Mark Shriver, senior vice president for U.S. Programs, Save the Children

Closing Session 3118 How Citizen Service Strengthens Communities

Mark K. Shriver leads Save the Children’s U.S. Programs, which works to ensure a fair start for all children in the United States, including the nearly one in four living in poverty. Shriver’s career fighting for social justice in advocacy and service organizations, as well as elected office, has focused on advancing the right of every child in America to have a safe and vibrant childhood. Shriver joined Save the Children in 2003 and developed its early childhood development, literacy and health programs for children in living in impoverished, rural areas of the United States. He created Save the Children’s domestic emergencies programs to ensure the safety and wellbeing of children before, during and after disaster strikes.

Wendy Spencer, CEO, Corporation for National and Community Service

Session 3139 Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) Town Hall
Closing Session 3118 How Citizen Service Strengthens Communities

Wendy Spencer is the newly confirmed CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service. Spencer understands firsthand the needs of local communities and has a proven track record of nearly three decades in volunteer management and administration. Throughout her career, Spencer has held management positions in the private sector, state government and in major nonprofit organizations. As head of Volunteer Florida, a bipartisan, gubernatorial appointed commission, Spencer managed between $18 million and $23 million in federal, state and local grants each year.

* In order to attend these sessions, you must register for preconference session 2913 All the Way Home: The Blueprint for Meaningful Community Response

We are honored to be able to present a variety of voices in the nonprofit sector and beyond. Register for NCVS soon to learn from the best.

Which session are you most excited about attending? Let us know in the comments below.