Volunteer Spotlight
Written by Christopher Glynn | August 2004
Hearing new executive board member Christopher Scanzera describe his first experience with Morris Habitat for Humanity (MHfH) can give evidence of the inherent value of the organization and its positive impact on those volunteering.
“I was hooked,” Scanzera, 38, said, explaining he discovered Morris Habitat for Humanity via a mailed brochure in 2000 at the new Randolph home he had purchased with his wife Lisa. Working onsite at his first project, he realized “This is a good opportunity for me to give back to the community on a personal level.”
Now, as a recent elect to the MHfH executive board, Scanzera—a project manager in the health-care and life-science technology sector for Deloitte Consulting—can dovetail his humanitarian concern with the work acumen and finance know-how acquired as a business veteran.
“I am on the board to bring guidance and oversight in strategic planning,” he said. “It can let me draw on a lot of my work experience in an organization widely-acknowledged in their mission.”
Scanzera noted an oft-repeated problem for MHfH: the lack of property in Morris County accompanied by its high cost.
“We have a very ambitious growth target,” he said, citing the MHfH “Five in 2005” slogan, “with a large barrier.”
He and the other board members are now discussing how to tackle the dilemma.
“We are talking about coming up with some creative ways to procure property,” he said.
Scanzera, who had never done volunteer work prior to joining MHfH, started in the organization helping at onsite construction as what he characterized as a “worker bee,” then rising to the role of construction supervisor. He has been involved in raising the Bellevue Terrace home in Morristown as well as the Calumet Road and Fairlawn Avenue sites in Randolph. He also cited the Habitat Helper renovation work at the Post home in Chester as one of his most memorable experiences with MHfH.
A Bloomfield, N.J., native, Scanzera and his wife Lisa have two children, a three-year-old son Luke and a one-year-old daughter Olivia. Prior to joining Deloitte Consulting, Scanzera had worked with PricewaterhouseCoopers. He did his undergraduate work in business management at Florida International University and completed his MBA at Florida Atlantic University.