Pictured are the winners of the 2025 DOVIA volunteer awards ceremony and their nominators. From left are Molly Millazzo, Nicole Wang, Raymond Ran, Lisa Couper, Karly Towne, Hollis Sweet and Luis Cortes. Photo by Bill Taylor

SACRAMENTO REGION, CA (MPG) - Volunteer leaders and advocates gathered May 14 at The Center at District 56 to celebrate the 2025 Directors of Volunteers in Agencies (DOVIA) Awards Ceremony, honoring exceptional contributions in volunteerism across the Sacramento region.

DOVIA Sacramento, a professional association that supports volunteer managers and leaders, recognized outstanding individuals in three categories: Youth Volunteer of the Year, Individual Volunteer of the Year and Volunteer Manager of the Year.

DOVIA staff and volunteers beaming with pride after another successful Volunteer Awards Ceremony. Photo by Bill Taylor

“Our mission is to help people who are volunteer program managers with their jobs,” said Leslie Fritz, DOVIA vice- chair. “I want attendees today to take away from this event the richness we have in the community. And maybe if we can continue to show that richness, it won’t slip away.”

This year’s event recognized 23 nominees across all categories. Each nominee received a certificate from Sacramento County Board of Supervisors representatives, including Supervisors Phil Serna (District 1), Rich Desmond (District 3), Rosario Rodriguez (District 4), and Pat Hume (District 5).

Among the 11 youth nominees, Raymond Ran and Nicole Wang, both seniors and volunteers at the Sacramento Public Library’s Arcade Branch, were named Youth Volunteers of the Year. The duo co-founded a weekly drop-in coding club for tweens, the first of its kind at the branch, helping dozens of children and their families engage with STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education in a welcoming, community-driven environment.

Eleven individuals were nominated for the youth Volunteer of the year for the 2025 DOVIA volunteer awards ceremony. Photo by Bill Taylor

“The most rewarding part is definitely watching the kids learn throughout the program and better understand the coding concepts,” Wang said.

Ran added, “We didn’t do this project because of an award but it is nice that we got it. We didn’t even know we had been nominated so that was a surprise. It was cool seeing the kids gradually get better and faster at responding to questions.”

Their nominator, librarian Molly Millazzo, was struck by their initiative and professionalism.

“I have never had volunteers who came to me with such a complete idea and were so committed to following it through,” Millazzo said. “It even gave me ideas for how to better work with the youth we serve.”

Individual volunteer of the year nominees hold up certificates honoring their dedication to volunteerism at the 2025 DOVIA volunteer awards ceremony. Photo by Bill Taylor

Lisa Couper, a longtime docent for the Sacramento Valley Conservancy, was honored as Individual Volunteer of the Year. Since 2011, Couper has led public education efforts at Deer Creek Hills Preserve, bringing passion and deep environmental knowledge to every hike and program.

“My volunteering started from wanting to preserve that open space and how critical that open space is,” Couper said. “I didn’t even know about the nomination, so winning is an even bigger surprise. It’s nice to have the volunteerism recognized but the recognition is not why I do it.”

Karly Towne, outreach coordinator at the Sacramento Valley Conservancy, praised Couper’s commitment.

“Lisa is an easy person to nominate. If I have any sort of activity, any questions, Lisa is always there. She can do anything and be anywhere,” Towne said.

Hollis Sweet, volunteer manager at the Sacramento LGBT Community Center, was named Volunteer Manager of the Year for his transformative leadership in expanding and enhancing the community center’s volunteer and internship programs. Under his guidance, the community center now supports more than 400 volunteers across daily services and major events such as Sacramento Pride.

“When I am building a volunteer system, there are two steps I always try to keep in mind: is it going to reduce barriers and is it going to provide a meaningful opportunity?” Sweet said. “I want volunteers to have a good time and know they are having a positive impact. I’d continue this work without the award but it sure feels nice to be recognized.”

Luis Cortes, the community center’s chief development and external affairs officer, emphasized Sweet’s impact.

The nominees for Volunteer Manager of the Year were Hollis Sweet of the Sacramento LGBT Community Center and Sacramento Pride and Athena Di of CASA Sacramento. Photo by Bill Taylor

“We really wouldn’t be able to do half of what we do without him,” Cortes said.

The nominees for Youth Volunteer of Year included Ethan Minton of E Train Talks, Inc.; Hadash Perez, Monica Castillo, Ran, Wang, and Sofia Guo of the Sacramento Public Library; Inta Rasmusson of Vitalant; Mary Sauedo and Sofia Maltease of WEAVE; Sara Matoba of WEAVE; and Siri Robinson of Mercy Hospital of Folsom.

For the Individual Volunteer of the Year category, nominees were Amy Labowitch of the Elk Grove Chamber of Commerce; Ann Taniguchi and Kathy Tourtillott of Vitalant; Brandon Whittle of Lavender Library; Carol Cacy, Julia Mee, and Terri Halahan of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Sacramento; Harry Weller of the American River Parkway Foundation; Joanna Johnson Felt of the American Red Cross; and Couper of the Sacramento Valley Conservancy.

The nominees for Volunteer Manager of the Year were Athena Di of CASA Sacramento and Sweet of the Sacramento LGBT Community Center and Sacramento Pride.