The Arkansas Volunteer Coordinators Association (AVCA) named Jolie Busby its 2016 Boss of the Year.

Busby serves as the UALR executive director of the Arkansas Public Administration Consortium (APAC), a consortium of the graduate public administration programs at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Arkansas State University and the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.

She received the award at the organization’s recent awards breakfast May 6 in North Little Rock.

“I was completely surprised,” Busby said. “I am very honored to receive the award. The organization that gave the award has supported APAC’s Certified Volunteer Manager Program for over 30 years. As a long-time member, it means a lot to me personally, and professionally, to be recognized by an organization that values and celebrates the profession of volunteer management.

The Volunteer Coordinators Association is a professional organization open to administrators of volunteer programs and those interested in the field of volunteerism. The association has a diverse set of members,including volunteer administrators, managers and coordinators from nonprofits, community service agencies, universities, hospitals, government agencies, and corporations.

Bubsy has coordinated the Certified Volunteer Manager program for the Arkansas Public Administration Consortium for the past six years.

“Through the CVM program, Jolie has trained, mentored and connected the state’s volunteer managers,” AVCA President Mallory Lindsey said. “Her enthusiasm and commitment to excellence are both contagious and inspirational.”

Busby worked as the special projects coordinator in the UALR Office of Advancement. She graduated in 2007 from UALR with a bachelor’s degree in history.

After graduation, she served as the AmeriCorps program director and volunteer manager at the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute and UALR Children International. At the Arkansas Public Administration Consortium, she worked as the program manager and interim administrator before becoming executive director in 2015.

“Jolie is a great boss, but I see her greatest impact has been mentoring the volunteer managers that she has worked with over the years in the CVM program,” said Anna Swaim, program manager of the Arkansas Public Administration Consortium. “As much as anything, the award recognizes her years of commitment to mentoring volunteer managers across the state through her work coordinating the Certified Volunteer Manager program.”