Fittingly, our Senior Volunteer Manager Daniel Marlay became involved with Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area first as a volunteer himself. 

Becoming a volunteer manager at another nonprofit organization instilled a need for him to get more involved in volunteering in his personal life again. “I figured if I talk the talk, I should walk the walk,” he says. “I looked into Make-A-Wish, and they were over-full for wish granters in San Francisco, so I offered to volunteer at fundraising events.”

Daniel enjoyed the experience so much that, when the Volunteer Manager position opened at our chapter, he applied and became a full-time staff member in 2012. Now he’s celebrating 10 years of supporting our volunteers as they help grant wishes, host events, raise funds, share our stories, and much more.

Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area COO Lynne Durie remembers Daniel’s first week on the job. "Daniel started the week of a major fundraising event that had dozens of volunteer needs. He jumped right in alongside his new colleagues and helped to make the event a success; he didn’t sit on the sidelines,” she says. “That’s one of many qualities I have always admired about Daniel—he’s always willing to be part of the solution either with his own time and talents or helping to find volunteer support.”

Daniel’s problem-solving spirit has led him to great accomplishments in the past decade. He has more than doubled the volunteer base from 350 to more than 750 today. He’s also extended the program into areas where the chapter previously had no volunteers, like Lake County. And he’s recruited many new skills-based volunteers—including photographers, videographers, and video editors who are excited to lend their expertise to Make-A-Wish.

Daniel has helped the volunteer program become more digital by creating the WishNet website as an online resource for volunteers. He also revamped the Wish Granter Training into an online training program to make it more accessible. Currently, Daniel looks forward to launching a new initiative—The Airport Sendoff, where volunteers will assist wish kids and their families with navigating local airports.

In his free time, Daniel enjoys watching movies and spending time with his wife, Cori, who is also a volunteer wish granter, and their 2-year-old son, Vincent. He’s also an avid open water swimmer who swims year-round in the San Francisco Bay. Daniel’s known around the office for being a fierce competitor when it comes to trivia, and his team has finished first place in our YPAC Trivia Nights two rounds running.

Daniel enjoys a competition and a challenge, but he finds the most value in collaborating with others for a good cause. “I say I have the best job in the office because I get to work with volunteers,” he says. “People with big hearts, loving, caring people who want to help others. They are such great people to be around.”

Our staff members and volunteers say the same about Daniel.