Molly Frendo is the State Program Director for Volunteer Systems at the University of Minnesota Extension's Center for Youth Development. She began her career as a statewide AmeriCorps program director at Michigan State University Extension supporting national service members who ran youth mentoring programs. In addition to her work with the University of Minnesota, Frendo is an active member of the Minnesota Association of Volunteer Administrators (MAVA), serving on both the professional development and strategic development committees and presenting several workshops on volunteerism and technology.
Frendo chaired the National Extension Volunteer Administration Community of Practice from 2012-2015, was a lead author of the recently published the Ready to Go: Mentor Training Toolkit curriculum, and helped to write, design, and facilitate an online course called Achieving the Extension Mission through Volunteers. She has presented her work at many state and national conferences, including the National Mentoring Summit, National Extension Association of 4-H Agents, and the National Mentoring Children of Prisoners conference. In 2013 she was the capnote speaker at the National Extension Conference on Volunteerism.
Frendo has a master’s degree in American Culture Studies and Women’s Studies from Bowling Green State University. She is completing her doctoral dissertation on the role of computer mediated training and volunteer retention in the Educational Psychology Educational Technology program at Michigan State University’s College of Education.
