AL!VE Impact Awards - Sponsored by Better Impact

AL!VE and award sponsor Better Impact are proud to present the 5th Annual National IMPACT Awards. The IMPACT Awards celebrate volunteer engagement professionals who have shown exceptional leadership and knowledge in the field. They showcase the importance of the profession and inspire professionals across the country to continue to lead in their communities.

2023 AL!VE Impact Award Recipients:

Emerging Leader Award

Keita Cole, CVA

Tennessee Commission on Aging and Disability

Hermitage, TN

Keita serves as the Director of the Senior Nutrition program where she assists nutrition site coordinators recruit, train and recognize volunteers across the state of Tennessee. She is also an advocate for nutrition for older adults through work with the National Council on Aging (NCOA) National Aging and Disability Transportation Center (NADTC), Administration for Community Living (ACL) and the Nutrition Aging and Resource Center (NARC). Keita has served as a guest speaker for a variety of conferences and webinars and also advocates strongly for colleagues receiving the Certified Volunteer Administrator certification.


Sarah Sukhram, CVA

Pasco County Animal Shelter

Land O' Lakes, FL

In her role, Sarah suports volunteers and consistently asks "How can volunteers help?" She utilizes Needs Assessments with supervisors, and create roles that they never thought were possible to recruit for. Sarah also supports other volunteer administrators both in her county and across the country. Sarah started a group to support other county agencies that engage volunteers and supports nearby counties in similar work. Sarah co-facilitates AL!VE's CVA study group and strongly advocates for the credential.


Olivia Osborne, CVA

City of Plano

Plano, TX

Olivia serves as the Litter Coordinator for the City of Plano's Sustainability & Environmental Education Division where she coordinates 3,000 to 4,000 volunteer in litter clean-ups across the city each year. Olivia consistently tries new programs to not only attempt to maximize the participation of volunteers, but to also create various experiences that are enjoyable, give a sense of accomplishment, and leave a positive impact that can hopefully influence behavior. She is a champion for sustainability through presentations and support of organization's like Keep Texas Beautiful and Keep America Beautiful.


Exemplary Leader

Allyson Drinnon, CVA

Habitat for Humanity International

Americus, GA


Over 23 years at Habitat for Humanity International, Allyson has supported volunteer managers at 1100 Affiliates in the U.S. and in 80 countries, indirectly engaging 1.4 million volunteers each year and building relationships with thousands of volunteers across our signature programs. For the first 5 years, she facilitated service for more than 1,500 AmeriCorps members serving at U.S. Affiliates, including annual training and build event management, and all aspects of grant administration. These volunteers leveraged thousands of local volunteers, helping to raise the visibility of volunteer management as a critical staff position, and many of them went on in professional roles managing volunteers at Habitat or other organizations. Allyson established Habitat for Humanity International's first Volunteer Resource Center as a resource for volunteer administrators. She also served on the Corporation for National and Community Service’s Training and Technical Assistance Planning Group and has been a grant peer reviewer since 2005. Allyson also contributes to the Engage Journal where she has written 9 articles and has served as an editor. In addition to a variety of certifications and credentials, Allyson currently is  a CVA (Certified Volunteer Administrator) and CNP (Certified Nonprofit Professional). 


Mary Lynn Perry

City of Sacramento

Sacramento, CA

In her current role as Chair of the Board of Directors of DOVIA Sacramento, Mary Lynn coordinates the efforts of our volunteer board and committee members to provide training, educational programs, mentoring, resources, member forums, book talks and annual awards to volunteer managers. She also coordinates fundraising and have achieved thousands of dollars of support through Giving Tuesday, Big Day of Giving (local), and sponsorships to keep the organization solvent and thriving. She also support the field of volunteer administration through a variety of presentations and board service.


Muriam Nafees

Gwinnett County Government

Lawrenceville, GA

Since taking on the role of Coordinator for Volunteer Gwinnett, Muriam has helped facilitate over 22,000 volunteer events and projects utilizing more than 428,000 volunteers who devoted greater than 5,343,000 hours, generating an overall impact of $143 million in economic value for the county. She has presented at a variety of conferences and events and been recognized by several local, state-wide, and national entities. 



Honorable Mentions:

Emerging Leader:

Alison Carlin
Brittni Coe, CVA
Danielle Iliadis
Hannah Driscoll
Harish Deshistha
Jade Mizzell
Jamie Wilburn Beatty
Joshua Rodgers
Katie Jordan
Marisha Geraghty
Marissa Olivas, MPA
Reagan Maldonado
Sky Kevyn Yeasayer
Tara Herbert


Exemplary Leader: 

Allyson Drinnon
Amy Pinger, CVA
Angel De Luz
Arlette Cunningham
Breauna Dorelus
Brianna Fitzgerald
Christina Basey
Elayna Flanders
Hilary Ann Jirasek
Hilary Anne Hager
Inga Wilson, CVA
Jackie Maas
Jerome Tennille
Kelly Gascoine
Lace Anderson Garland
Liza J Dyer, CVA
Marilyn Campbell
Mary Lynn Perry
Mary Vandeveld
Michele D. Baker, CVA
Michele Wiesner
Michelle Theisen
Muriam Nafees
Rebecca Nofi
Renee Hartwig
Sarah Philippe
Severina Ware, CVA
Shana Beverly
Sidney Schuttrow
Stacey Luhring
Tierra Fair
Wendy Johnson


Thank you to our judging panel!

Susan Sanow, CVA
Corina Sadler, CVA
Jared Peer, CVA
Paula Allen, CVA
Monica Jasso, CVA
Lisa Romish, CAVS, CDVS
Gretchen Jordan, CVA


Thank you to our Award Committee!

Ashley Ramsdell, CVA
Carol Ayars, CVA
Shelli Beck, CVA
Jennifer Thompson, CVA
Jade Mizzell
Jordanya Reeves, CVA


Thank you to our sponsor!


AL!VE Board Member Nicole Smith has interviewed past recipients on her 'From The Suggestion Box' podcast. 
Hear from some of our past recipients in

part one of the podcastpart two, and part three.

View Previous Awardees:

2022 AL!VE Impact Award Recipients

2021 AL!VE Impact Award Recipients