From Volunteers to Champions: Building High-Impact Employee Ambassador Programs
May 21, 2026
1pm – 5pm ET
Interactive Online Program via Zoom
Sponsored by
Overview
This one-day summit explores how to design and sustain employee ambassador programs that strengthen CSR and engagement strategies. Participants will learn approaches for building inclusive and accessible models to recruit, scale, train and incentivize ambassadors, while equipping them as storytellers and champions who reinforce company culture, well-being, and retention.
Volunteer ambassadors or champions can be powerful connectors between corporate social impact, culture, and employee engagement. In particular, they can help small teams exponentially increase their impact, encourage local participation and bring global and community insights to your programs. But building a program that truly works requires thoughtful strategy, clear structure, and ongoing support.
Participants will learn practical approaches for:
- Designing inclusive and accessible program models
- Recruiting, onboarding, and training ambassadors effectively
- Recognizing and incentivizing participation
- Equipping ambassadors as storytellers and culture builders
Through real-world examples and focused breakout discussions, attendees will leave with ideas and tools to refine or launch programs that reinforce company culture, support retention, and amplify impact.
Learning Outcomes:
By the end of this Summit, participants will be able to:
- Explain the strategic role of employee volunteer ambassador and champion programs in advancing corporate social impact, strengthening company culture, and increasing employee engagement.
- Identify key design elements of an inclusive and accessible ambassador program, including program structure, roles, and expectations.
- Apply practical strategies for recruiting, onboarding, and training employee ambassadors to support participation and long-term program sustainability.
- Evaluate approaches for recognizing and incentivizing ambassadors in ways that reinforce motivation, well-being, and retention.
- Explore ways to equip ambassadors as storytellers and culture champions who amplify impact across the organization.
Speakers
Tiana Austel
eBay
BIO
Tiana Austel is a community builder and employee engagement leader at eBay, where she manages global programs including matching gifts and their volunteer ambassador network, Changemakers. During her time at eBay, she has helped grow global employee engagement participation from 37% to 73% by designing experiences that foster connection, storytelling, and meaningful participation at scale.
Known for blending creativity with strategy, Tiana also created an open-source CSR and Social Impact Resource Guide and hosts bi-monthly career exploration sessions for those entering the field. Whether leading multi-million dollar engagement campaigns or hosting themed supper clubs, she is driven by a belief that community-centered experiences can spark joy, deepen belonging, and help individuals thrive.
Vivian Greentree
Fiserv, Inc.
BIO
As Head of Global Corporate Citizenship and President of the Fiserv Foundation, Vivian leads a global, multidisciplinary organization focused on strengthening communities, engaging employees, and advancing social impact at scale. Operating at the intersection of financial technology, trust, and corporate responsibility, Vivian creates long-term triple-bottom-line value by aligning purpose, people, and performance.
Vivian oversees Fiserv’s global philanthropy, employee volunteering and giving programs, community partnerships, and community investments, while shaping a cohesive fintech-for-good strategy that reflects the company’s values and business priorities to integrate social impact into how the company shows up for employees, clients, and communities worldwide.
Elizabeth Harrington
Otis Elevator Co.
BIO
Currently serving as Director of Global Social Impact at Otis Elevator Company, Liz brings 15 years of experience in nonprofit partnerships, employee volunteerism and giving, and purpose communications with publicly traded industry leaders. She has led companies through global shifts in their corporate social responsibility strategies including operationalizing grant programs, identifying new strategic partners, building signature programs, and designing engaging employee volunteer and giving programs. She also brings expertise in communications and has developed global communications campaigns that drive engagement and brand awareness.
Tori Lindahl
ACCP
BIO
Tori Hay Lindahl is the Director of Advisory Services (contract) at ACCP. As part of the Content & Learning team, she leads the evolution and expansion of ACCP’s advisory services, the development and delivery of customized trainings, and partnering with member companies and external advisors to advance high-quality corporate social impact practices across industries.
Prior to joining ACCP, Tori built a career spanning corporate social responsibility and consulting, primarily working within Fortune 500 companies and fast-growing technology firms. She brings deep experience advising organizations on strategy, stakeholder engagement, and program execution. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from Wheaton College (MA) and a Master of Public Administration from Northeastern University.
Luan Nio
IDEO.org
BIO
Luan is the Senior Director of Partnerships at IDEO.org, a non-profit design firm dedicated to creating a more just and inclusive world. She leads a global portfolio of relationships and projects focused on designing with and for communities facing disruption and displacement. In her role, Luan guides multidisciplinary teams in forging cross-sector partnerships, strategies, and services that empower communities to endure and adapt with dignity.
With nearly 20 years of experience across non-profit, for-profit and social enterprise sectors, Luan brings a unique approach that combines systems thinking, co-creation with community members and allies, and actionable innovation to drive meaningful, sustainable impact. She excels at facilitating multi-stakeholder collaborations and guiding human-centered innovation processes.
Before joining IDEO.org, Luan worked at Enviu, a venture-building studio that launches companies to address global environmental and social challenges, and at IBM as a management consultant in the Innovation & Growth Strategy team. She holds a MSc cum laude and BSc from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands.
Jenny Moe
Target, Inc.
BIO
Jenny Moe is Senior Manager of Community Engagement at Target, with more than two decades of experience in the social impact sector. She leads the development of partnerships and programs that deliver shared value for communities and business. Jenny is known for translating community insights into scalable initiatives that effectively mobilize corporate resources for meaningful, lasting impact.
PROGRAM AGENDA
| 1:00 PM – 1:10 PM | Introduction and Framing Presenter: Andrea Bell |
| 1:10 PM – 2:00 PM | Embracing a Human-Centered Approach to Designing for and with Employees Discover how human-centered design can transform your employee ambassador program into a catalyst for engagement, trust, and pride. In this session, we’ll explore how putting people at the core of your program can transform a group of contributors to a force of passionate champions, eager to strengthen company culture and drive meaningful impact. We’ll immerse ourselves in the key principles of human-centered design and discuss how they can be applied to ambassador programs. You’ll learn to understand your employees’ needs, motivations, and pain points, using these insights to design a resonate program. Through real-world examples and interactive exercises, you’ll uncover strategiews to ideate and prototype inclusive program structures that genuinely grow, motivate, and retain ambassadors. By the end, you’ll have a toolkit of human-centered frameworks and activities to help you grow a thriving community of employee champions. Speaker: Luan Nio |
| 2:00 PM – 2:10 PM | Break |
| 2:10 PM – 3:00 PM | Case Sprints & Joint Q&A – From Frameworks to Action: What Ambassador Programs Look Like in Practice Move beyond theory and into real-world application. In this session, three organizations take you inside their ambassador programs, sharing how they translated strategy into structure, activated employees, and scaled impact across their organizations. Through candid storytelling and practical examples, you’ll hear what worked, what didn’t, and how each team adapted along the way. From gaining buy-in to designing roles and sustaining momentum, this session offers a view of what it takes to bring ambassador programs to life. You’ll leave with actionable ideas and proven approaches to move from planning to execution in your own organization. Presenters: Tiana Austel and Jenny Moe Q&A Moderator: Vivan Greentree |
| 3:00 PM – 3:05 PM | Introduction of Ambassador Toolkit Presenter: Ashley Johnson |
| 3:05 PM – 3:50 PM | Design Labs: Breakout Discussions & Ideation Sessions – Build, Test, Refine: Designing Your Employee Ambassador Program This interactive breakout session is where strategy meets execution. Using ACCP’s Employee Ambassador Toolkit as a working guide, participants will move from concepts to concrete decisions—defining goals, clarifying roles, and identifying the structures needed to build or strengthen their programs. In small groups aligned to key program elements, attendees will share ideas, pressure-test approaches, and get real-time feedback from peers facing similar challenges. Whether you are building, refining, or scaling your program, you’ll leave with practical inputs, peer-informed insights, and clear next steps you can apply immediately. Breakout topics aligned to core sections of the toolkit to support actionable planning of Program Goals and Metrics, Structure and Roles, Scaling Globally, Leadership Buy-In, and Incentives and Recognition. |
| 3:50 PM – 4:00 PM | Break |
| 4:00 PM – 4:50 PM | Workshop – Empowering Ambassadors as Leaders, Connectors, and Culture Carriers Global volunteer programs don’t scale through central teams alone—they scale through empowered local leaders. This session explores how to design an ambassador model that enables global reach while strengthening culture and community connection. You’ll hear practical lessons on recruiting ambassadors as local program leads, supporting and engaging them throughout the program lifecycle, and recognizing their contributions through visibility and growth opportunities. We’ll also share how to build feedback loops that strengthen programs over time—and how ambassadors bring global purpose to life locally, from engaging students to activating the next generation of talent. Designed for practitioners looking to build or evolve an ambassador program, this session offers practical ideas you can apply right away. Speakers: Liz Harrington and Tori Lindhal |
| 4:50 PM – 5:00 PM | Closing and Survey |
*This is a tentative agenda and is subject to change.
Who Should Attend
- CSR practitioners: new to mid-career
- Employee volunteer program managers
- HR business partners
- Employee Engagement Leads
- DEI, managers of Employee Resource Groups
Tuition
- Members: $295
- Non-Members: $425