This month’s Volunteer of the Month is David Nevill, Assistant Vice President, Global Human Resources & Corporate Citizenship, at State Street.

David has been a fantastic champion of the Parity project , leveraging his position within the firm to promote the importance of the initiative to colleagues, delivering training and brokering internal opportunities. As well as leading bespoke training for our candidates, in particular an annual Public Speaking & Presentation skills session, David mentors a candidate via our Parity mentoring scheme. Here we catch up with David to find out about why he volunteers and what his experience has been like.

Why did you decide to volunteer?

As with many things in life I got involved with this volunteering initiative by chance. State Street offers all staff 2 days a year paid volunteer leave and I attended one of the network events run with ELBA. I was very impressed with the individuals in attendance & asked if I could provide some Presentation Skills sessions for ELBA. This was several years ago, and I have continued to evolve these sessions to incorporate key employability skills.

What did you gain from your volunteering experience?

It has been a wonderful opportunity for me to use my training skills for a different audience. It has certainly taken me outside my comfort zone, as my experience had previously been working in a Corporate Banking environment. I needed to adapt my style and ensure the courses met the attendees’ objectives. Following on from one of the programs last year, I continued to work with two individuals. I am VERY proud to say they have both embarked on a career at State Street and relocated to Poland.

Would you recommend volunteering to a colleague and if so, why?

I would certainly recommend volunteering to my colleagues. Being able to share some of your skills & experience gained in the corporate environment is a great way to bring down the barriers that may be stopping someone looking to start a career in the corporate world. Engaging in volunteering is a great way to give back, you should never underestimate the impact of doing something that you may perceive as very small and what it can have on others and the community.

Congratulations to David on a fantastic piece of volunteering.