Jayne Cravens

Current

Volunteer at Girl Scouts Oregon and Southwest Washington
Consultant at Coyote Communications
Online Community Participant at @ various online fora

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Past

Advisor, forum facilitator & volunteer coordinator at AidWorkers Network (AWN)
Communications and Reporting Advisor at United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Afghanistan - MRRD
Volunteer at Knowbility

Online Volunteering Specialist (P3) at United Nations Development Program/United Nations Volunteers
Director, Virtual Volunteering Project at Impact Online & University of Texas at Austin
Internal Communications Manager at Joint Venture: Silicon Valley
Human Resources (Corporate Philanthropy Coordinator) at Maxtor
Publicity Director at Williamstown Theatre Festival
Public Relations Assistant at Hartford Stage
Marketing Assistant at Capitol Center for the Arts
Reporter - Staff at College Heights Herald

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8 more...

Education

The Open University
San Jose State University
Western Kentucky University

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Recommended

7 people have recommended Jayne

Connections

232 connections

Industry

Non-Profit Organization Management

Websites

Jayne Cravens’s Summary

Jayne Cravens has more than 20 years of experience providing management and capacity-building expertise for civil society and government organizations regarding media & public communications, community/volunteer involvement, donor relations, reporting, and governance. She has worked with groups on the local, regional, national and international levels, and extensively with multi-cultural, diverse audiences, corporate audiences, international aid workers, low-income communities, conservative societies, and those who are traditionally socially-excluded. She is probably best known for her research and promotion of online volunteering/virtual volunteering. She has a demonstrated commitment to mainstreaming women's issues into her work, including during her support to a government ministry in Afghanistan, and a background in working with people with widely differing belief systems and personal circumstances. She is frequently cited in various news and academic articles. If you type her full name, "Jayne Cravens", in quotes into google.com, you can learn in detail about her international reputation, the initiatives with which she has worked, and the many organizations that refer to her work and materials.

After living in Germany for more than eight years (with a six-month stint working in Afghanistan for six months in 2007), she relocated back to the USA in April 2009.

See www.coyotecommunications.com for complete details about Jayne, as well as links to her blog and monthly email newsletter.

Jayne Cravens’s Specialties:

- Communications, public relations/community outreach
- Press relations * media monitoring
- Internal communications
- Networking & partnership management
- Project & program development & management
- Project evaluation & reporting
- Volunteer involvement, support & management
- Capacity-building re: communications activities & volunteer involvement
- Policy-development re: communications activities & volunteer involvement
- Recruiting & supervising staff
- Managing budgets

Jayne Cravens’s Experience

Volunteer

Girl Scouts Oregon and Southwest Washington

(Non-Profit; Non-Profit Organization Management industry)

September 2009 — Present (3 months)

I'm the communications coordinator, as a volunteer, for the local service unit of the Girl Scouts Oregon and Southwest Washington. My service unit serves Girl Scouts in Canby, Colton, and Molalla, Oregon. There are approximately 150 girls currently served in about 22 Girl Scout Troops in this service area. In this role, I: facilitate communication among volunteers, ensure service unit web page is informative and up-to-date, write and distribute meeting meetings, manage electronic and hard copy communications, and manage service unit calendar.
Consultant

Coyote Communications

(Non-Profit Organization Management industry)

January 1996 — Present (13 years 11 months)

Providing services and training re: communications and re: volunteer management/community involvement. Recent activities: volunteer management 101 workshop for AmeriCorps members beginning service in Portland, Oregon (onsite, Oct. 2009), online social media for volunteer managers workshop (online, Sept. 2009), all-day seminar re: online volunteering for Akademie für Ehrenamtlichkeit Deutschland, Berlin, Germany, followed by an informal one-hour talk with representatives of a German federal volunteering initiative and a member of the German parliament (onsite, Feb. 2009), and a live, online workshops for two Texas universities and for volunteer managers in Australia. Currently revising The Virtual Volunteering Guidebook, to be published by Energize, Inc. Ongoing research and writing re: how rumor and myth can derail development or relief efforts, and ways to address such (2006-08). Authored and implemented volunteer policies for Aid Workers Network (2007-08). Advised UNESCO re: business models for its Open Training Platform (2007) Conducted evaluations for the American Red Cross, Catholic Charities, Planned Parenthood, AARP and the US Army, among many others, re: the effectiveness of their web sites per volunteer support (2006-07). Full details of this and many more consulting projects at www.coyotecommunications.com
Online Community Participant

@ various online fora

(Non-Profit Organization Management industry)

January 1994 — Present (15 years 11 months)

Since at least 2002, I've moderated the "Volunteers and Technology" forum on TechSoup, and before that, was a contributor to some of the materials used by CompuMentor regarding its tech volunteers. I'm an active participants in various online communities, including Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA), Digital Divide Network, E-Voluntas, International Society for Third-Sector Research (ISTR), OZVPM - Australasian Volunteer Management, the Thorn Tree (Lonely Planet message boards) and UKVPMs (for volunteer managers in the UK). I first got involved with online communities in 1994 with the USENET soc.org.nonprofit newsgroup. My online community activities are detailed on my web site.
Advisor, forum facilitator & volunteer coordinator

AidWorkers Network (AWN)

(Non-Profit Organization Management industry)

January 2004 — January 2009 (5 years 1 month)

Aid Workers Network (AWN) is an online community of people working in aid and development. It allows relief and development workers -- consultants, full-time staff, volunteers, researchers, local and international -- to share questions, advice and resources with each other. I monitored and regularly-contributed to the AWN forum, recruited and supported online volunteers to help with various aspects of the AWN web site, developed materials for the AWN advice pages, and updated much of the web site content. I also developed a strategy to help the board better define and administer its duties, with greater volunteer assistance (transitioning AWN to become an all-volunteer organization).
Communications and Reporting Advisor

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Afghanistan - MRRD

(Non-Profit; International Affairs industry)

March 2007 — August 2007 (6 months)

I was tasked to advise on communications activities for a UNDP administered program that supported the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development, and to help build the capacity of Ministry staff in relation to communications and reporting. I undertook a variety of efforts, from edting press releases to co-writing a video script to creating a presentation on taking pictures in the field to coordinating translations to training Afghan staff on various activities. I also worked with the gender specialist on a number staff guidelines and outreach materials, ensuring a gender focus was present in all outreach materials and advocating internally for women-focused strategies. More details and samples of my work here on my web site.
Volunteer

Knowbility

(Non-Profit; Internet industry)

September 1998 — December 2005 (7 years 4 months)

Anything the staff at Knowbility asks me to do, I do it, because it's one of the best nonprofit organizations with whom I have ever worked. I'm so proud to be associated with it in any way. Over the years, I've designed training materials and conducted workshops for corporate volunteers regarding working with nonprofit organizations, participated in accessibility training for both corporate volunteers and nonprofit staff, helped promote Knowbility, and staffed their booth at SXSW.
Online Volunteering Specialist (P3)

United Nations Development Program/United Nations Volunteers

(Non-Profit; International Trade and Development industry)

February 2001 — February 2005 (4 years 1 month)

Directed all UNDP/UN Volunteers' activities and strategies regarding Online Volunteering (OV), including managing www.onlinevolunteering.org, hosted for a time at NetAid; provided leadership and support for UNITeS, www.unites.org, the Secretary General's ICT4D initiative at UNV, primarily regarding volunteer support, profiling volunteer activities, and research; and provided overall support and expertise to UNV/UNDP, primarily regarding volunteer management and online volunteering capacity-building, and information about corporate volunteering. Much more detail is available on my web site.
Director, Virtual Volunteering Project

Impact Online & University of Texas at Austin

(Program Development industry)

December 1996 — December 2000 (4 years 1 month)

This position was first based at Impact Online (now VolunteerMatch); it moved to the University of Texas at Austin. I directed this pioneering, internationally-recognized project. Activities included conducting extensive research to create original materials for web site, working with organizations to set up and expand online volunteering involvement;
presenting findings at major conferences and to online groups;
establishing a model online mentoring program at a local elementary school; providing expert advice re: online mentoring for the National Mentoring Partnership, IBM, AOL/Time Warner, and Dept. of Education at the University of Texas, among others; press relations, resulting in stories in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal , and the Chronicle of Philanthropy, among others; and recruiting and managing more than 400 online volunteers, and one-two onsite paid and unpaid staff. Also provided expertise to local AmeriCorps programs.
Internal Communications Manager

Joint Venture: Silicon Valley

(Program Development industry)

February 1995 — April 1996 (1 year 3 months)

Responsible for internal and online communications for this advocacy organization, at the time managed by former California State Senator Rebecca Morgan, focused on revitalizing the region, with programs ranging from improving schools to encouraging computer recycling to regulatory stream-lining. Selected accomplishments:
- regularly gathering information from individual 11 affiliates and writing program reports for funders;
- developing JV's original web site, and those of most of the affiliates;
- developing and managing member database and postal mail outreach; and
- recruiting and supervising onsite and online volunteers, and supervising onsite support staff.
Human Resources (Corporate Philanthropy Coordinator)

Maxtor

(Public Company; 5001-10,000 employees; Computer Hardware industry)

December 1991 — September 1993 (1 year 10 months)

Administered corporate giving programs and supported vice-president of HR at this international Fortune 500 company. Responsibilities included defining overall corporate donation policies for all office locations, implementing and administering employee volunteer program at HQ facility, screening donation requests and making recommendations to senior management regarding funding of community organizations. Also coordinated executive-level communications with Asian and European offices and coordinating communications to staff regarding a reduction-in-force.
Publicity Director

Williamstown Theatre Festival

(Non-Profit; Performing Arts industry)

March 1990 — September 1990 (7 months)

Also there for the 1988 season. Responsibility highlights (all accomplished pre-Internet):
- directing communications and marketing activities, including creating and executing marketing strategies for specific audiences (such as summer tourists, senior groups, etc.)
- writing press releases, pitching stories to local/community media, and New York and national media (The New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Variety, etc.), and supervising interviews, TV and radio taping (e.g. CNN, NPR and "Entertainment Tonight") and photo calls;
- directing design, production and distribution of brochures, posters, and flyers (all without computer desktop publishing tools);
supervising press and marketing budgets, and placing radio and newspaper ads;
- working with box office and front-of-house staff, and hiring and supervising support staff;
- creating guidebooks and archives for those assuming positions after my departure
Public Relations Assistant

Hartford Stage

(Non-Profit Organization Management industry)

1988 — 1990 (2 years )
Marketing Assistant

Capitol Center for the Arts

(Non-Profit; Entertainment industry)

August 1987 — May 1988 (10 months)

Producing a quarterly newspaper focused on regional arts events (gathering information, editing copy, laying out paper manually/without desktop publishing tools, and coordinating printing and distribution), assisting the marketing director in her duties, and hosting a short once-a-month program on arts events on the local TV station (ABC affiliate).
Reporter - Staff

College Heights Herald

(Non-Profit; 51-200 employees; Newspapers industry)

August 1985 — May 1987 (1 year 10 months)

Jayne Cravens’s Education

The Open University

MSc , Development Management , 2001 — 2005

Information about my development studies and continuing development work can be found at http://www.coyotecommunications.com/development/

Activities and Societies:

Development Studies Association, European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), Open University Development & Environment Society (OUDES)
San Jose State University

Certificate , Nonprofit Management , 1990 — 1991

Classes completed toward Professional Certificate for Nonprofit Management (inaugural class): Fund-Raising, Board Governance & Leadership, Financial Management, HR Management, and Strategic Planning & Needs Assessment.
Western Kentucky University

BA , Journalism, Theater, History , 1984 — 1988

My major was Journalism. My minors were in both Theater and in History.

Activities and Societies:

Western Players, Alpha Psi Omega (National Honorary Theatre Society)

Additional Information

Jayne Cravens’s Websites:

Jayne Cravens’s Interests:

Capacity-building for nonprofits / non-governmental organizations (NGOs) / civil society. Volunteer management. Please see www.coyotecommunications.com for more information.

Jayne Cravens’s Groups:

Open University Development & Environment Society (OUDES), Development Studies Association, European Association of Development Research, Training Institutes (EADI), CYBERVPM, UKVPMS, & OZVPM.
Please see www.coyotecommunications.com for more information.