The Center for Volunteer and Nonprofit Leadership, the California based nonprofit support organisation known as CVNL, has named Karen Strolia as its incoming Chief Executive Officer. She takes up the role in August 2026.
Strolia succeeds Linda Jacobs, who led CVNL for 25 years. The lengthy tenure of the outgoing chief executive makes the transition a significant moment for the organisation, and the board has structured an orderly handover to preserve continuity for staff, members and the nonprofits CVNL serves.
Strolia joins from the San Rafael Chamber of Commerce, where she served as President and Chief Executive Officer. Under her leadership the chamber was recently named Chamber of the Year by the California Chamber of Commerce, a recognition of the organisational strength she helped build. She brings more than a decade of senior nonprofit leadership across Marin and Sonoma Counties.
CVNL works to strengthen the nonprofit sector by supporting nonprofit leadership, volunteerism and organisational capacity across the North Bay region. It provides training, consulting and volunteer engagement services, positioning it as a hub for the community organisations that depend on it.
Succeeding a chief executive of 25 years is a demanding assignment, requiring a new leader to honour an established legacy while bringing fresh direction. Strolia track record of strengthening organisational strategy and operations, and of building community partnerships, aligns with the needs of an organisation whose value lies in its relationships across the sector.
The nonprofit sector in the North Bay, as elsewhere, faces pressures on funding, staffing and demand for services, and a support organisation like CVNL plays a central role in helping smaller nonprofits navigate those challenges. Leadership continuity and credibility matter for maintaining the trust of the organisations it serves.
Strolia early priorities are likely to include building relationships with CVNL member organisations and funders, sustaining its training and consulting programmes, and setting a direction for the organisation next chapter after a long period under a single leader. A planned transition gives her time to build those foundations.
The appointment reflects a broader pattern in the nonprofit sector of leaders moving between civic and community organisations, carrying experience in strategy, operations and partnership building across roles. Strolia move from a chamber of commerce to a nonprofit support body fits that pattern.
CVNL said the incoming chief executive would lead the organisation as it continues its work strengthening nonprofits and volunteerism across the region, building on the foundation established under its long serving outgoing leader.
