Meet the national Venturing officers for this upcoming year

Every year, Venturers are selected to serve in the national Venturing officers’ association. With the support of adult volunteers and professionals, the six young people will help shape Venturing’s future, make decisions and serve as the public face for the youth-led co-ed program for those 14- to 20-years-old.

Venturing officers’ associations exist at the national, territory and council level. The national VOA supports the overall program, whereas the territory VOAs support local councils. A council VOA can host events for Venturing crews, provide training, help crews’ social media presence and support networking opportunities. If you’re looking to help start a VOA in your council, check out this page. And if your youth is interested in joining or starting a crew, see this page.

Let’s meet the members of your 2022-2023 national Venturing officers’ association.

Tara Izadi, national Venturing officers’ association president

Unit: Crew 5330, California Inland Empire Council

Tara has been a Venturer since 2016; she’s now a junior at UCLA, where she’s studying biology and gerontology. She earned the Summit rank (see more on Venturing ranks here) and is a member of the inaugural class of female Eagle Scouts.

She most recently served as the national Venturing vice president of territory support for the western territories. Tara has also served in her regional and council VOAs.

Her role as president will include building stronger relationships with territory and council VOAs, promoting VOA accessibility and increasing Venturing membership.

Olivia Townsend, national Venturing officers’ association vice president – eastern territory support

Unit: Crew 111, Southwest Florida Council

Olivia joined Venturing in 2017; she is working on her Summit rank and is a member of the inaugural class of female Eagle Scouts. She is attending the State College of Florida, where she’s pursuing an associate’s degree.

She is also serving as an assistant Scoutmaster for a Scouts BSA troop, an Order of the Arrow lodge officer and an Explorer post captain. She has served as a territory president and has had roles in her region and council VOAs.

She’ll be charged with equipping territory VOAs with resources to support council VOAs and help increase Venturing’s presence in Scouting.

Gahn Mungarndee, national Venturing officers’ association vice president – communication

Unit: Crew 2992, Atlanta Area Council

Gahn is an Eagle Scout and an Order of the Arrow Brotherhood member of Egwa Tawa Dee Lodge. He’s a sophomore at Purdue University, studying mechanical engineering.

He most recently served as a territory president, and previously served in his council’s VOA. He has also served on staff for National Youth Leadership Training and Powder Horn; he’s also on faculty at the Philmont Training Center.

He will work on expanding and updating communication channels with the national VOA and providing communication and marketing resources for crews, council VOAs and territory VOAs.

Jamey Schnasse, national Venturing officers’ association vice president – administration

Unit: Crew 73, Marin Council

Jamey joined Venturing to do more high-adventure, and since joining, he and his crew have been to Philmont Scout Ranch and Northern Tier. He is a senior at San Marin High School.

Jamey is an Eagle Scout, Vigil Honor member of Talako Lodge and serves as an assistant Scoutmaster. He has served as a territory president as well as a region president.

He hopes to set the example for effective organization and administration of a VOA.

Micah Vacco, national Venturing officers’ association vice president – western territory support

Unit: Crew 3276, Northern Star Council

Micah recently completed the Pathfinder Rank and is a member of the inaugural class of female Eagle Scouts. She is a sophomore at Bethel University, studying environmental science and business.

Micah has most recently served as a territory president and has also served as a region vice president.

She plans to provide territory officers with resources and help them meet their needs.

Kaitlyn Bishop, national Venturing officers’ association vice president – program

Unit: Crew 73, Chief Cornplanter Council

Kaitlyn has completed the Pathfinder rank and is working on earning the Ranger Award (for more on specialty Venturing awards, see this page). She is a junior at the State University of New York at Geneseo, where she is studying biology on the pre-veterinary science track.

Kaitlyn has most recently served as a territory president and as a region vice president of program.

In her role, she hopes to strengthen the connections between the council VOAs and territory VOAs by creating exciting programs and developing ways to increase membership and retention.


About Michael Freeman 432 Articles
Michael Freeman, an Eagle Scout, is an associate editor of Scout Life and Scouting magazines.