About VMC
Volunteer Management Consulting (VMC) was born of the realization that non-profit organizations are often stretched so thin that they are under-equipped for all that goes into building the infrastructure for sustainable volunteer engagement. VMC provides training, coaching, and support for every element of volunteer engagement to help organizations build systems from the ground up or improve the effectiveness and professionalism of existing processes.
About the Consultant
Traci Lato-Smith, CVA
Founder, Owner, & Principal Consultant
Traci Lato-Smith, a Certified Volunteer Administrator, comes to VMC with a rich background in the nonprofit world and a deep passion for volunteerism and service. Raised in Phoenix and educated at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, Traci has lived and worked in Chicago, San Francisco, St. Louis and Denver. Traci has spent her career working with volunteers in the non-profit sector and has worked for The Denver Hospice, Denver Scholarship Foundation, St. Louis Naturally Occurring Retirement Community, A Miner Miracle, The National Conference for Community and Justice, the Anti-Defamation League of Greater Chicago, and the Boys and Girls Club of Metropolitan Phoenix. Since starting her consulting business, Traci has been proud to work with nonprofits around the country, including Points of Light, the Association of Leaders in Volunteer Engagement (AL!VE), and the reDirect Foundation. Traci has worked extensively with the Service Enterprise Program as a consultant, trainer, and coach, certifying organizations that fundamentally leverage volunteers and their skills to achieve their social missions.
Traci’s entrée into the nonprofit world came, quite appropriately, as a volunteer. She transitioned into program design and management, engaging volunteers by necessity and learning to develop systems for integrating volunteers in myriad capacities to support mission-focused work. Volunteer management became a true passion and Traci has since created vibrant volunteer programs for organizations in the fields of social justice, senior advocacy and education. Creating volunteer programs from the ground up for small to mid-sized organizations has become a specialty, but the core concepts of establishing a sound and supportive system for engaging community members in service to an organization’s mission translate universally.
In addition to her professional work in the field of volunteer engagement, Traci volunteers her own time in a variety of ways. She is a former member of the Board of Directors for Denver DOVIA (Directors of Volunteers In Agencies), has presented at the Colorado Nonprofit Association Conference, the Colorado Conference on Volunteerism, Rural Philanthropy Days, and AL!VE National Summit on Volunteer Engagement. She is also an active volunteer at her kids’ schools, and a lover of horses, yoga, and hiking with her Labrador Retriever, Sunshine Daydream.