Rose Tatum is the Founder of The Volunteer Leadership Lab, where she helps nonprofit organizations develop, lead, and scale intentional volunteer programs that create lasting community impact.

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With two decades of experience in volunteer engagement and a deep commitment to service rooted in her own lived experience, Rose equips mission-driven organizations with the tools, training, and strategies they need to build strong, sustainable volunteer infrastructures.

 

As a Certified Volunteer Administrator (CVA), she brings nationally recognized expertise and a grounded, empathetic approach to every organization she works with.

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Rose created The Volunteer Leadership Lab because she believes Wilmington can be a national model for what a connected, engaged, and empowered city looks like. One where people trust and support local nonprofits.

 

One where neighbors put aside their differences to serve side by side. One where everyone has the opportunity to contribute to something bigger than themselves.

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In Rose's free time, you'll find her spending quality time with friends and family, paddleboarding or kayaking, riding her bike, or hanging out with her pup, Ellie Mae. 

Meghan Rooney is the Managing Director of Strategy & Execution for Small Business Banking at Live Oak Bank, where she combines strategy, technology, data, and operational leadership to help teams work smarter and serve customers well. With more than 15 years of experience leading cross-functional initiatives and building systems that scale, she's passionate about using thoughtful processes and well-managed data to solve complex problems.

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Outside of work, Meghan is passionate about building stronger communities through service and meaningful relationships. Whether hosting community gatherings, leading a neighborhood Bible study, serving on nonprofit boards, or supporting various community service projects, she loves bringing people together around a shared purpose.

 

As a Founding Volunteer with The Volunteer Leadership Lab, she's excited to support the organization's mission by helping connect more people with meaningful opportunities to serve, strengthening both nonprofits and the Wilmington community. She believes strong communities are built by people who are willing to show up, serve well, and make it easier for others to do the same.

 

When she's not working or volunteering, you'll likely find her playing pool volleyball with her husband, Andy, or exploring Wilmington with their yellow Lab, Madi Lee.

Agnes is a recent graduate of the University of North Carolina Wilmington, where she earned her Master of Science in Data Science. As a contributor to The Volunteer Leadership Lab, she is helping compile the Volunteer Impact Report, turning data into a clear picture of how volunteerism shapes the Wilmington community. She enjoys finding the human stories hidden inside the numbers.

Originally from Kenya, Agnes came to the United States as an international student and has grown to embrace Wilmington as her second home. She is excited about this opportunity to give back to the community that has welcomed her, bridge cultural gaps, and deepen her understanding of the people and organizations that make Wilmington special.

Away from her laptop, Agnes can often be found exploring parks, taking long evening walks, and watching the sunset. She is also a devoted track and field fan, with a marathon on her someday list.

Suzy Struhs is a founding volunteer of the Volunteer Leadership Lab (VLL), where she has served as storyteller and photographer since July 2026. Through her lens and her words, she captures the people and moments behind volunteerism in the greater Wilmington area — supporting the Lab's mission of connecting volunteers with meaningful opportunities and helping local nonprofits build intentional, high-impact volunteer programs.

 

Volunteerism has been a through-line of Suzy's life. Across a career in the women's clothing industry, she devoted countless hours to nonprofits in child advocacy, alcohol and drug advocacy, equine therapy, the arts, senior citizen support, and helping women entering the workforce following incarceration.

 

She recently earned her CADC certification in Alcohol and Drug Counseling from Cape Fear Community College and currently serves as a Guardian ad Litem for New Hanover County. She can also be found ushering — and working the snack bar — at the historic Thalian Hall.

 

A five-year transplant from Dallas, Texas, Suzy is newly married and lives on the Cape Fear River, where she loves watching the big ships travel to and from the Port of Wilmington. A voracious audiobook listener, she spends her free time with her horse, Tess, and watching the antics of her two cats, Luna and Bro.