For the past year, the ICSC volunteer engagement team, led by COO Valerie Richardson and vice president of volunteer engagement Mike Cowden, has been working with longtime and newer volunteers to evaluate and revitalize the organization’s volunteer program to better serve all parties.

How are they doing it? By streamlining the infrastructure to allow more efficient data sharing to recruit new members and to serve existing ones, by clarifying the benefits of donating time and wisdom to ICSC and by providing multiple levels of opportunities and removing barriers to allow ICSC members to contribute while growing their personal careers and companies. 

Richardson, who volunteered her way up the ranks at ICSC to become chair and later joined the staff as COO, is a keen example. ICSC volunteering helped fuel her career, which included stints at Trammell Crow Co. and The Container Store. Cowden, meanwhile, has worked in various volunteer-facing capacities at ICSC for almost a decade.

Commerce + Communities Today executive editor Brannon Boswell spoke with Richardson and Cowden:

Valerie, what first attracted you to volunteering for ICSC, and how did the experience help grow your career and your companies’ businesses?

Richardson: My first volunteer experience with ICSC was speaking on a panel at the Red River conference, although I’ve been to many since then. It was an opportunity to showcase my company and to talk about what my company was looking for from a real estate and a brand-awareness standpoint. My first ICSC convention was in 1982. It was in New Orleans that year, and I was a young leasing agent. ICSC was a very important networking/relationship-building opportunity for me, having really no list of contacts within the industry. And my company, Trammell Crow Co. at the time, was very supportive.

The events allowed members to come together and meet and talk about potential deals. My first 10 years as a member were very focused on networking and relationship building. That meant I could be on a planning committee or a panel that could give me some exposure to other people’s thoughts and perspectives, as well as highlighting my company’s opportunities. That was the most efficient and effective way to build awareness of my company’s brand.

Fast-forward to when I was attending as many events as I could. Then, I was asked to become a trustee in 2004. That elevated the experience for me and for my company significantly. The Container Store was a relatively small company with only 20 store locations, and to have the exposure to the leaders in the industry was so valuable. And then The Container Store’s chairman was asked to give the keynote address in Las Vegas. That exploded our brand awareness and our exposure to the development community. That led us to a series of high-profile real estate locations that led the company through a significant growth phase. That moment in time, those relationships, that exposure helped a small, $20 million company grow to a billion-dollar company. You can’t do that one by one, property by property. You really have to have that network to allow you to expand your brand significantly and quickly.

If you’re willing to dedicate a little bit more of your time by sharing your perspective and experience with a wider group by speaking on ICSC panels, professional development or virtual sessions, you will benefit from your time invested both professionally and personally. Many of the best experiences of my life happened because of ICSC, the people I’ve met, the aspects of the industry I have learned and the transactions I have completed on behalf of my companies.

What secrets to success can be learned along the ICSC volunteer journey?

Richardson: The volunteer aspects that ICSC provides really get you exposed to people outside of your personal network and get you involved with people in different parts of the business that might not be on your radar screen right now but might, as you go through your career, become really important.

Cowden: We wanted to spell out to potential volunteers something that has remained unspoken among existing volunteers: Volunteering has helped their careers. We put down on paper a quick, easy volunteer value proposition, spelling out how it helps with establishing relationships and hopefully transacting business. It’s a simple equation to put forth, but it’s so much bigger than that. You’re going to get an established relationship with a longtime friend who is going to help you and your career in ways you cannot even imagine.

Richardson: If you’re a developer working in suburban America and zoning and permitting is no big deal, then maybe you don’t know all the economic development professionals. But when you go through a period like we are right now where redevelopment and new development is evolving, having those community advancement relationships with those municipalities is very important. ICSC can provide those opportunities, whether it’s high on your priority list right now or becomes higher later. The breadth of our membership is really helpful throughout your career.

Cowden: Countless times, volunteers will tell me that they started out in one region, and after establishing connections in other communities, they were able to expand. All of those other volunteers you have worked with become a resource that can help fill in the gaps when you have a head-scratching moment in your career. You can then turn to your friend and colleague and say: “We worked on ICSC@WESTERN conference, and I already know how you think.” Those people can be immensely valuable in your career.

What has changed about volunteering at ICSC, and why did ICSC make those changes?

Richardson: Before, we were organized primarily by state. Then we had other members that weren’t part of that leadership that were on event planning committees. So we had a lot of engagement, but it wasn’t very cohesive. We looked at our data, where our members and events are, and repositioned the geography approach into Marketplace Councils because the marketplace reputation of our brand is rooted in retail but not exclusively. We have members involved in hospitality, multifamily and industrial.

Cowden: We plan to share data from ICSC with the member leaders to help them shape the big picture. We’ll be better able to offer services and programming that directly matches what they need.

Richardson: In our new Marketplace Council structure, we created created new roles that look toward the future. For each Marketplace Council, there’s a chair of Next Generation, of Community Advancement and of Talent Development. We have a membership that is a mile wide and an inch deep. We tried to structure these councils so we can provide resources and get feedback from all our member segments so we can be more relevant and meaningful.

Cowden: Not only are there more entry points, but we are looking at more integration and collaboration. We want to be running things more like a town council, where multiple voices are involved and everyone is truly collaborating for the benefit of the community. Previously, there were roles like the State Director, which is now the Marketplace Council Director. Previously, a public-sector member or retail tenant member might not have been eligible for that role. Now, they will be actively encouraged to participate. We’re looking to integrate retailers throughout these roles. They can be a Government Relations Chair, push public-private partnerships and drive the next generation.

Richardson: There are now opportunities at all levels of tenure. We have longtime volunteers who have evolved into ICSC ambassadors who are invited to participate in the Marketplace Councils. Having both new and experienced people in the room is the perfect balance because you have the value of the legacy and the energy of the younger generation.

Cowden: With the new structure, younger people will see more opportunity more quickly in their career path. They will think: “If I start at X I can get to Y in the volunteer structure and see the career growth and the big picture, as well.”