Each Board member works to strengthen and support Volunteer Connection programs. Board members come from a variety of professional and service backgrounds.
Jennie Arbogash - Secretary
Jennie Arbogash holds a Masters degree in Nonprofit
Management and brings 12 years of experience in nonprofit leadership, management,
fundraising, marketing, and volunteer development. She is currently the executive
director of Social Venture Partners Boulder County and is former president
of the Volunteer Connection Board of Directors. Jennie teaches volunteer management
and provides volunteer program consultation along the Front Range. She lives
with her husband, Tim, in Longmont, and is involved in community volunteer
efforts throughout Boulder County.
Chris Benham
Chris has more than 20 years of marketing experience
and was most recently Vice President of Marketing at Boulder-based Webroot
Software Inc. Chris has a BS in Marketing and a BA in English from the University
of Kansas. Chris is a Colorado native and lives with his wife and two daughters
in Superior.
Shavonne Blades
Shavonne Blades has been publisher/founder of Yellow
Scene Magazine since inception in late 2000. Shavonne has worked in media
since 1984 starting in Santa Cruz California. Shavonne has held many volunteer
positions within the community and with local schools as well as helping coordinate
small non-profit fundraisers. Shavonne lives in Erie, where the home office
of Yellow Scene Magazine is located and is enjoying the new opportunities
of living within bicycle distance to work. Yellow Scene Magazine serves the
14 communities of the North Metro market and publishes 69,000 copies monthly.
Niles Emerick - Treasurer
Niles moved from Indiana to Boulder along with 12 others to begin a faith
community. He brings business acumen and team-building experience to the Board.
He is the Store Manager of a local Starbucks, as well as the Founder of real
estate consulting firm Emerick & Associates. His personal desire and passion
for volunteerism have taken him to Uganda, East Africa on two occasions, and
led him to work closely with Volunteer Connection. He continues to serve meals
at the Boulder Shelter for the Homeless and organizes other volunteer efforts
within his faith community. Niles has a Bachelor’s degree in Economics
from Hillsdale College.
Felice Harlow
Felice has more than thirty years experience in volunteer
management and fund raising. She has been involved in many capacities, with
both the Volunteer Action Center in Framingham, Massachusetts and the Greater
New Orleans Volunteer and Information Agency. She now serves on our Volunteer
Connection Board. She also participated on the Brandeis University National
Women’s Committee National Board for ten years. While in New Orleans,
Felice served on many boards and worked for the Girl Scouts. In 1996 she became
the March of Dimes division director (executive director) of the Greater New
Orleans and Southeast Louisiana Division. Felice retired in 2004. Felice and
her husband have recently moved to Longmont. They have three grown daughters
and enjoy being in the mountains, traveling, and gardening. Felice is pleased
to have joined an organization that shares her passion for creatively using
volunteers.
Chris Nelson - President
Chris Nelson is the Director of Finance for Webroot
Software Inc. Chris has 10 years of finance and accounting experience in Boulder
county software companies. Chris has a MBA from Regis University, a BS in
Business Administration from Colorado State University, and is a graduate
of the University of Denver Executive Leadership Program. Chris lives with
his wife, Kelly, in Boulder, and together they enjoy cooking, traveling, reading,
and working on their home.
Jane Morton Sovndal
Jane Morton Sovndal grew up in San Francisco and graduated
from the University of California at Davis with a double major in French and
English. While in California, she volunteered for many organizations in the
San Francisco area such as the SPCA, St. Anthony's Soup Kitchen, Glide Memorial
Church and the Parks and Recreation Department. After college, she moved to
New York City for five years, where she worked as an editor and writer for
various educational publishers and trade magazines. She also volunteered at
the ASPCA in New York. She took some time off from her professional endeavors
and had two boys, who now are nine and six. She and her family have lived
in Boulder since June of 2003. Jane also spent the past three years volunteering
for and eventually working as the Executive Director of the Community of Sudanese
and American Women here in Boulder. In conjunction with three local synagogues,
the organization helped resettle 16 orphaned refugee "Lost Girls of Sudan"
here in Boulder. She resigned from her position as Executive Director in August
2008 and went back to school. She is currently a student at Regis University
in the Master of Nonprofit Management Program. She also volunteers for Blue
Sky Bridge and Reading to End Racism.
Ann Tinkham
Ann Tinkham has worked in the private and non-profit
sectors in small, medium and large organizations. She has been a consultant
and a freelance professional. Her positions have included educational programming,
human resources, facilitation, instructional design, writing, and marketing.
All of the positions and projects shared a focus in training, professional
development, and learning. Ann has also co-authored a nonfiction book, Climbing
Mountains in Stilettos (SourceBooks, 2007). In addition to her professional
experience, Ann served on the Board of Directors of Voices for Children and
on the marketing committee of the Boulder International Film Festival.
Rachel Weinberg - Vice President
Rachel, born and raised in the Cincinnati, Ohio area,
has been in Colorado since 2001. After receiving a BA in Marketing from Ohio
University she moved to Boulder. Rachel was Director of Events & Strategic
Alliances for a training company for the past five years until she left in
January of 2006 to launch a career in real estate. Rachel is a Realtor with
Stellar Properties, a local company serving the residential and investment
market in Boulder and Broomfield counties. In addition to working and volunteering,
Rachel enjoys hiking, biking, swimming, backpacking, skiing and live music!
