Steffen adds nonprofit perspective to Voinovich School Advisory Board

The newest member of the Advisory Board for the George V. Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service at Ohio University brings extensive experience with nonprofit organizations to the table.

As a graduate of the school’s Master of Public Administration (MPA) program and former graduate assistant who has resided in Athens for years, Renee Steffen, also has a strong familiarity with the strengths and needs of the region.

“The graduate assistantship that I had through the MPA program focused on getting to know the nonprofit community in Athens County and the surrounding region – that practical experience, accompanied by the courses that I was taking, helped me see what was going on in the community and enhanced some of the theoretical concepts that I was learning in the program,” she said.

OHIO experiences, degree got her started in her career

After earning her MPA at OHIO in 2011, Steffen embarked on a career in the nonprofit space that led her to the Sisters Health Foundation, where she first served as a grants and office manager and has since worked her way up to serve as executive director, a post she has held since 2017.

The Foundation’s “healthy people in healthy communities” mission meshes well with those of the Voinovich School and its regional approach.

In continuing the health ministry of the Sisters of Saint Joseph, the Foundation supports a variety of nonprofits through grants distributed throughout an 11-county area that includes Athens, Meigs and Washington counties in Ohio and eight counties in West Virginia, Steffen explained. Beneficiaries include after-school programs, Boys and Girls Clubs, Habitat for Humanity, health departments and organizations working to address hunger, among others.

Steffen said her interest in public service stems in part from her experience while earning her undergraduate degree at Defiance College in Northwest Ohio and the work she did at the institution’s McMaster School for Advancing Humanity. That project included traveling to Cambodia to study the country’s garment industry, which led to a fundraising effort to provide women in rural areas there with sewing machines so they wouldn’t have to work in unsafe conditions in the cities.

“I really got a first-hand experience of how one person can make an impact in other people's lives as far away as Cambodia,” she said. “I think that kind of lit the fire about working in the nonprofit space, because it is work that seeks to improve situations for people experiencing disparities and inequities.”

That experience would lead Steffen to career stops as a campus and community collaboration leader for AmeriCorps VISTA, where she organized service projects and managed student volunteers for Marietta College, and resource center manager for the Center for Nonprofit Excellence in Akron before she joined the Sisters Health Foundation.

Giving back to OHIO and sharing her knowledge and experience

Steffen pointed to her experiences in the field as knowledge she can share while serving on the Voinovich School Advisory Board.

“I think I bring a wider lens of the nonprofit and philanthropic space in the region,” she said. “The nonprofit sector is important in that it offers a lot of economic growth and supplies a large workforce for the region. Coming full circle, I know many nonprofits have benefited from the services that the Voinovich School provides.”

Steffen also sees her board participation giving back for the longtime support she’s received from the university. She singled out Amista Lipot, director of external relations and strategic partnerships and executive director of the Mayors' Partnership for Progress, as being a constant contact and especially supportive.

“I've been fortunate to maintain contact with many faculty and staff over the years, and it's always been focused on kind of the mutually beneficial partnership that isn't about ‘Well, what can I get from you?’” she said. “So I've always appreciated that positive relationship with faculty and staff and feel blessed to be able to give that back by serving on the advisory board to show my support of them and the region.”

In her spare time, Steffen enjoys exploring small towns in Appalachia, running and watching sports – especially the WNBA. She also has a regular basketball game with friends in Athens.