Fordham University alumna Megan Zuckerman, FCLC ’16, won the 2024 Outstanding Volunteer award from the New York Junior League (NYJL) on Nov. 17. This award, granted to just five women out of over 2,400 volunteers, is a high honor given to those who exemplify a superior standard of excellence in volunteerism.
Zuckerman grew up in the Jersey Shore and attended the Peddie School in Hightstown, N.J. After completing her first year of her undergraduate degree at a small liberal arts school in upstate New York, Zuckerman transferred to Fordham’s Lincoln Center campus. There, she pursued a degree in communications and media studies with a concentration in journalism.
Today, Zuckerman works as the PR & Events Manager for IvyWise, an educational counseling firm. Her day-to-day includes managing media relations for the company and supporting event planning for webinars, industry conferences and in-person events. Zuckerman also manages the IvyWise Scholars, which is a pro-bono college counseling program serving low-income, high-achieving students in the U.S. applying to college as either first-year or transfer students. She coordinates the application process, communicates with applicants, onboards students and requests marketing content from them throughout their programs. In her free time, she enjoys running, reading, spending time at the beach and morning walks with her dog, Henry.
When she was in high school, Zuckerman went well beyond the graduation requirement of 20 community service hours. She spent her summers volunteering at Island Beach State Park’s community outreach program, where she taught students about marine life. Zuckerman also participated in many short-term volunteer projects, such as annual blood drives.
In her first year of college, she volunteered weekly at a daycare for underprivileged children. “Although it was sometimes very difficult, I learned a lot and am even more determined to work with children more in the future,” she said.
After transferring to Fordham for her second year of college, Zuckerman searched for ways to expand her network outside of the school. This led her to join the NYJL, a volunteer organization that “works with more than 60 community-based organizations to advance the social-emotional learning of children to provide life skills programs to youth and adults who are navigating periods of difficult transition.”
Ten years later, she is still an active, decorated member of the organization. Zuckerman has an extensive list of projects she’s spearheaded within the organization, such as serving as a co-chair of the NYJL’s 120th Anniversary Cookbook Task Force, forming a public relations outreach initiative and overseeing not one, but three different committees of the NYJL’s Training Council.
By serving as the co-chair of the task force, Zuckerman’s responsibilities included organizing over 500 recipe submissions using DropBox and Excel and assisting with the logistics of creating and selling the cookbook. “The project included one year of hard work, thousands of emails, dozens of nights burning the midnight oil, 53 dedicated task force members, 160+ recipes, the most intricate Dropbox folder and, of course, the best co-chair, Maria Reina,” Zuckerman said.
“As someone who is the furthest thing from a chef, I never could have imagined diving into a project like this, but am so grateful that I did. Not only does the book tell the treasured history of the New York Junior League, but the proceeds from its sales support the important work that we do to support the NYC community,” Zuckerman said.
In 2021, she used her background as a public relations professional to develop a preliminary media relations strategy to help bridge the gap in the organization’s external communications. Zuckerman then joined the Communications Work Group, where she worked with the Fundraising Area to highlight events and the Community Area to share the work of their committees.
Through this, she has developed media relations strategies, written and edited press releases and pitches, created media lists and conducted media outreach. Her media coverage includes Apartment Therapy, Avenue and Gotham Magazine.
The three committees of the Training Council Zuckerman oversees are the Leadership Development, the Nonprofit Education and the Training and Volunteer Education and Training committees.
In the fall of 2023, she received the NYJL Outstanding Volunteer Award for all of her accomplishments within the organization. She will be honored for this achievement on Feb. 24 at the 72nd Annual Winter Ball, a “special black tie event that raises essential funds for the NYJL’s community programs while celebrating both [its] community projects and [its] women volunteers who dedicate themselves to improving communities in New York City.”
In regards to Fordham’s influence on her success in volunteering, Zuckerman said, “The number one role that Fordham played in my volunteer experience was providing me with public relations skills. I am most proud of the media placements I’ve secured for the NYJL, because it has a measurable impact on us recruiting new volunteers, soliciting donors and encouraging people to attend our fundraising events.”
Although Zuckerman already has an impressive array of volunteer accomplishments, she continues to look towards the future: “My next goal is to join a nonprofit board or junior board and I am hoping to identify a best-fit by the end of this year — it is one of the goals that I set for myself in 2014!”
Those aged 21 and older who are interested in exploring volunteer opportunities within the NYJL can read more about joining the program on their website, nyjl.org.
“It [NYJL] really helps with the transition from college life to post-graduate life, as it provides structure and a schedule, a professional and friends network and an outlet outside of work,” said Zuckerman.
