Erin McLean, MA, CVA

With over 15 years of experience leading volunteers in local, provincial and National organizations, Erin is excited to be coming up on 5 years in her role as the Director of Alumni and Volunteer Engagement at Trails Youth Initiatives. Each day, she is energized and challenged by the opportunity to develop and implement best practices in volunteer engagement while partnering for impact and growing relationships with dedicated and passionate alumni and community volunteers. Erin earned her CVA designation in October 2024 and is also honoured and grateful to have been recognized within the profession for her contributions to the field of Volunteer Engagement, including being the recipient of an Impact Award and the Linda Buchanan Award. Erin’s favourite thing about being a leader of volunteers is getting to contribute to relationship building and community partnerships. Her love for connecting with people and advancing her learning has driven her professional pursuits, as well as her volunteer work. Erin has been involved with local and provincial volunteer associations and is thrilled to currently be contributing to the board of VMPC (Volunteer Management Professionals of Canada) and the editorial team of Engage. What she loves about both of these roles is that they help her to further contribute to the growth of our profession and offer the opportunity to connect with peers in a variety of ways. When not working or volunteering, Erin loves to travel and explore new places, while learning new things and eating delicious food! She finds it best when she gets to share these experiences with her husband and daughter or close family and friends. Erin is an avid sports fan; dog-mom; and usually has more than one book on the go.