January 2026

Volunteer Coordinator and Blade-Runner

By Karen Bagnard
Posted: 03/28/2025

Nathan Wolford, one of the voices of the Village, gave a powerful and inspirational presentation at the March Staff Connections event.

Nathan joined the Pasadena Village Staff as the Villager & Volunteer Coordinator in Fall 2024, and he is often the first voice you hear when you call the Pasadena Village office. He maintains a calm, cool demeanor while juggling all the detailed tasks of his position.

Nathan also walks on prosthetic legs, keeping up with all the demands of his job. When asked to make a presentation to the Village in order for everyone to get to know him better, he did not hesitate. Paula Rao happily opened her home to him and Villagers who attended.

To a fuller than full house, Nathan gave us an overview of his childhood growing up in Michigan, home of Gerber Baby Foods (no, that’s not his picture on the jar).

The rest of his presentation was telling the story of how he lost his legs and the grueling journey back to walking. He brought his prostheses for “show and tell,” as well as demonstrating how the various kinds of prosthesis work. It was fascinating! He took all questions and answered with candor.

Perhaps the most impressive, at least to me, were the running blades.  Most of us had seen these when they became a central issue in the Olympics some years ago but we didn’t really know how they worked. Nathan explained it all.

Beyond his own adjustment to life without legs, Nathan has also volunteered as an amputee mentor to adults and children. He recalled how critical this mentoring was for him at age 19, when he lost his legs. It was the mentoring that really gave him hope to have a full life.

Nathan has mentored in Ethiopia with a group called Limb Kind, as well as Camp No Limits.  He recently learned there is a Camp No Limits in Big Bear and hopes to be able to volunteer there, as well.

Nathan is certainly a “can do” guy with a positive attitude about everything. He is an inspirational speaker and held our interest and curiosity.

Pasadena Village is very fortunate to have Nathan on our team. Everyone enjoyed his presentation and left knowing him just a little bit better.