Biggest Challenges Of Working In Conservation As A Volunteer Coordinator
Maria's biggest challenge as Volunteer Coordinator/Community Science Coordinator at Sugarloaf Ridge State Park is managing communication within the large and diverse volunteer group. This involves "being the middleman and creating solutions" to address differing viewpoints and ensure effective collaboration across various park projects.
Communication, Problem-Solving, Teamwork, Community Engagement, Volunteer Management
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Maria Maurico
Volunteer Coordinator/Community Science Coordinator
Sugarloaf Ridge State Park (Sonoma Ecology Center)
California State University - Sacramento
NA
Biology & Related Sciences
Climate, Environment, Sustainability & Waste Management, Nonprofit, Foundations & Grantmaking
Climate, Environment and Sustainability
Video Highlights
1. Managing diverse volunteer groups and their varying ideas requires strong communication and conflict resolution skills.
2. Finding common ground among volunteers with differing opinions is a key challenge.
3. Effective communication is crucial for coordinating a large volunteer base and addressing diverse park needs.
Transcript
What is your biggest challenge in your current role?
The biggest challenge in my current role is probably making communication work. It's not necessarily because I'm not communicating with people, or that they aren't communicating with me back.
I think "communication" is a very general term. To be more specific, our volunteer group is just very large, with people who have different ideas about basically everything.
So, it's a lot of trying to figure out where people meet in the middle. It's a lot of being the middleman and creating solutions for different aspects of the park.
But yes, I would say volunteer communication can be very, very challenging at times.