The Volunteer Center Names Alisa Kesten Executive Director
Former Board President Leads Volunteer Center into New Decade of Volunteerism

Tarrytown, NY. –The Volunteer Center of United Way (www.volunteer-center.org), a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing the quality and quantity of volunteers throughout Westchester and Putnam, has appointed New Rochelle resident Alisa Kesten as Executive Director.  

Kesten has been an active board member of The Volunteer Center for four years, where she most recently served as Board Chair. Kesten succeeds Joanna Straub, who stepped down December 2009 after eight years of strong professional guidance at the helm of the organization.

“Alisa brings an impressive combination of professional skills and a passion for community service that makes her uniquely qualified to lead The Volunteer Center,” said Susan Russ, Vice Chair.   

The Board of Directors will look to Alisa to increase The Volunteer Center’s visibility in the community, broaden its donor base and continue to maintain and develop programs that effectively engage volunteers and support non-profits in Westchester and Putnam.

Kesten has over 25 years of experience in non-profit, corporate and campaign management and is eager to tackle the responsibilities of heading up an organization she knows quite well in theface of strong challenges and opportunities.   

“Last year, The Volunteer Center engaged over 15,000 people from Westchester and Putnam in service with more than 500 nonprofits,” said Kesten. “That was a 25 percent increase over the previous year, and yet we need to connect thousands more to address the needs of our communities. The staff and I look forward to developing even stronger partnerships with businesses, funders, civic leaders and elected officials to make sure that we can continue to do all that is necessary to inspire individuals to engage in meaningful and valuable volunteer activities.”

Mirroring trends throughout the country, as local non-profit organizations are expected to do more with tighter budgets, the call goes out for volunteers of all ages and types of expertise. At the same time, many individuals now use volunteer experience to help transition to new careers, develop skills to obtain a job or build a resume.

Kesten was most recently a senior associate at Douglas Gould & Company, New York, NY.  Her prior work experience included: 2006 regional campaign coordinator for Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton; kindergarten teacher at Beth El Nursery School in New Rochelle; public affairs officer at Bankers Trust Company; and program specialist at the national headquarters of American Jewish Committee. In addition, Kesten is an alumna of Leadership Westchester, a signature program of The Volunteer Center, and serves on the boards of the New Rochelle Public Library Foundation, the Museum of Arts and Culture at New Rochelle High School, and the Westchester-Fairfield Chapter Alumni Association of Emory University.

Over the past 60 years, The Volunteer Center has evolved to meet the changing needs in our community, creating initiatives in collaboration with the business community, expanding services to engage volunteers of all ages, and then in the last decade, expanding its online outreach to make it even easier for people to get connected. To learn more and get involved visit www.volunteer-center.org or call 914-948-4452.

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