Elizabeth Specht 

      Past Chair / Volunteer Centre Designate
 

Elizabeth lives in Richmond, BC, and is a committed life-long volunteer and community advocate. She has been the Executive Director of Volunteer Richmond Information Services (BC) since 2000. Under her leadership, the Volunteer Centre has grown as a champion and enabler of the greater volunteer movement, through strong and creative capacity initiatives, such as the Leadership Now program. Volunteer Richmond has an annual budget of $1.1M, a staff of 16 and more than 200 volunteers.

 

Elizabeth is dedicated to the Volunteer Centre movement at all levels. She was instrumental in drafting a protocol agreement among Greater Vancouver Volunteer Centres, which has been seminal in creating a collaborative environment in the region. She has been a board member of Volunteer BC since 2000 and recently joined Volunteer Canada's Advisory Council of Volunteer Centres.

 

Elizabeth is currently a member of the city's 2010 Legacies Now's Spirit of BC Committee, chair of the Legacy Volunteer Committee and board member of the Society of Richmond Children's Centres. In addition, she is a director and treasurer of the Richmond Community Services Advisory Council and a past director of the BC Games for Athletes with a Disability. Volunteer Richmond has also recently spearheaded collaborative volunteer management strategies for Richmond's Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services and Health Services.

 

Elizabeth sees Volunteer Canada as the organization with the capacity to lead, build capacity and establish national standards of best practice in the sector. She hopes to offer her leadership skills and enthusiasm to advance and continue to build Volunteer Canada into an even stronger resource.