Chapter Leadership

Virginia Master Naturalist chapters are powered by volunteers! Chapters do not have paid coordinators; volunteers are in charge of the local delivery of the program and the day-to-day activities. 

Each chapter has a board of directors with officers and committee chairs. Many chapters also have leaders for each project they do. Make sure to learn who the current leaders are in your chapter, as they are your go-to people when you have questions or need help. 

Each VMN chapter has one or two advisors who are employees of one of the seven sponsoring agencies and who are part of the chapter’s board. Their role is to help keep the chapter on track and to provide guidance and advice to chapter leaders and other volunteers, too. Your advisor is a key person you should look to for assistance.

There always is a need for new volunteers to get involved in chapter leadership, and this needs to be part of every VMN volunteer’s role. There are not paid staff whose job it is to coordinate chapter-level activities. t is volunteers who handled your application, who planned and are putting on this training course, who review and approve service opportunities, and who help make sure that your work as a volunteer gets recognized. Without volunteer leaders, a chapter ceases to exist, and, since you must be part of a chapter to participate in the program, that means your opportunity to be a VMN volunteer ceases to exist, too. So, please step up and serve in a leadership position, join a chapter committee, become a project leader, or help with a chapter event. Your involvement in this way makes a big difference!

Find resources related to chapter administration and leadership at our Chapter Leader Guide site.