Volunteer Extraordinaire

Courtney Clark
Courtney has consistently demonstrated extraordinary leadership by spearheading initiatives that uplift our community. Under her guidance, the Kids In Cool Shoes (KICS) program was created in 2016. She currently serves as a double-placed Sustainer, on both the Coats for Kids and KICS committees. In addition to chairing Coats for Kids and KICs, Courtney has served as a Nominating Committee Member, Board Member at Large, Training and Education Chair and was selected as an AJLI ODI attendee.

Courtney’s ethos of philanthropy, volunteerism, and community engagement has been informed and shaped by her JLA affiliation. As a brand new Austinite, she founded Austin Involved, a nonprofit dedicated to helping young adults find relevant philanthropic opportunities. She created the Board Internship Program, which is now a part of I Live Here I Give Here, to identify and train young people and POC as nonprofit board members and was the basis for the nonprofit board training program used by JLA. Courtney’s 2013 graduate research paper on how nonprofits can nurture and develop their clients into future volunteers and donors won the Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota Outstanding Graduate Research award and became the basis for her first book, “The Giving Prescription: A Personal Plan for Healing Through Helping”. She continues to lead and mentor in our community, having served on the board of directors for other local nonprofit organizations such as the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Animal Trustees of Austin, the LIVESTRONG Young Leaders Cancer Council, and on the Mayor’s Council for the Austin Cities of Service.

Courtney is an international professional speaker who delivers keynote presentations about resilience, perspective, adapting faster, and achieving more through content-based motivation. She has been featured in Forbes, Psychology Today, USA Today and the Chicago Tribune. Her current client list includes Whataburger, Dell, Nike, Cisco and Marriott Hotels. She has served as a philanthropy consultant to clients such as LIVESTRONG, the Austin Community Foundation and Austin’s Campaign for Philanthropy (I Live Here, I Give Here).

Courtney has received much recognition for her personal and professional work including: Austin Under 40 award winner, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Austin “Woman of the Year”, Austin Monthly “20 in their 30s”, Leadership Austin Ascendant Award, GivingCity Magazine “The New Philanthropists” Finalist, Austin Business Journal Women of Influence Awards

Courtney’s  innovative thinking, compassionate leadership, and unique ability to foster collaboration have set a benchmark for excellence and made her truly deserving of the Volunteer Extraordinaire award.

 

Volunteer Extraordinaire Awardees

The Volunteer Extraordinaire award has been given to a sustaining member of The Junior League of Austin on an annual basis since 1985. The award is presented to a woman who has utilized past League training to demonstrate and promote volunteerism into the community beyond their active years with the League. Recipients of this award are listed below.

Recipient Year Recipient Year
Courtney Clark 2025 Cindy Hendrick Kozmetsky 2005
Kathi Haralson 2024 Donna Stockton-Hicks 2004
Jene Bearse 2023 Kay McKay McHorse 2003
Susan Lambert 2022 Pam Pitzer Willeford 2002
Sandy Alcalá 2021 Carrielu Byram Christensen 2001
Toya Bell 2020 Beth Butler Granger 2000
Laura Wolf 2019 Diane Finch Grant 1999
Holly Mace Massingill 2018 Eugenia Worley Schoch 1998
KaLyn Laney 2017 Lolla McNutt Page 1997
Nancy Prideaux 2016 Janet Long Fish 1996
Dinah Barksdale 2015 Dealey Decherd Herndon 1995
Mary Gideon Herman 2014 Hallie Groos Slaughter 1994
Suzy Balagia 2013 Martha Woods Covert 1993
Amber Carden 2012 Libby Snyder Malone 1992
Cookie Ruiz 2011 Verna Mae Hardy Morrison 1991
MariBen Ramsey 2010 Eleanor Luckett Schneider 1990
Beth Walters Atherton 2009 Maline Gilbert McCalla 1989
Patsy Woods Martin 2008 Sonia Wolf Winson 1988
Karen Ruble Johnson 2007 Grace Odem Doyle 1987
Dianne Dies Schoch 2006 Ann Cox Bome 1986