We are here to start something

Mack Koonce
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Mack Koonce joined Big Brothers Big Sisters as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer in June 2002. Prior to joining the organization, Koonce served on the boards of directors of both national and local Big Brothers Big Sisters agencies. Koonce brings more than 30 years of experience in the private sector to his position.

While on the Big Brothers Big Sisters national board, Koonce led innovations in branding, volunteer recruitment, and service delivery. As COO, Koonce re-launched the Big Brothers Big Sisters brand in its Centennial year and continues to implement marketing and operating initiatives.

Immediately prior to his position at Big Brothers Big Sisters, Koonce was President and CEO of Venue Ticket Exchange, a new sports-ticketing business venture. He has also served as chairman of AIVIA, a software and web development company.

Koonce spent 12 years as a partner and Executive Vice President for Wyndham Hotels in the 1980s. Under his leadership, Wyndham became a major, new, upscale hotel brand.

In the late 1970s and 1980s, Koonce was Vice President of American Express, where he developed the first direct marketing travel service. He also served as President of CUC International, launching a new direct-marketed travel business and growing the division to $200 million in revenue.

Koonce holds a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Jan McDavitt
Vice President, Fund Development
Jan McDavitt joined Big Brothers Big Sisters of America in 2011, coming from the National Development Office for the Girl Scouts of the USA where she served in the capacity of Vice President, Development. At Girl Scouts she played a key role in leading movement-wide strategic philanthropic program development, specifically organizing the launch of an integrated and collaborative 100th Anniversary Campaign that was designed to leverage the Girl Scout brand and build capacity for local councils. Through her efforts and that of her Fund Development team, the role of the national development office was repositioned to support the establishment of a strong and sustainable culture of philanthropy and an expanded focus on donor-centered, mission-oriented fund raising.

Prior to joining Girl Scouts of the USA, Jan was Vice President of Development for the Liberty Science Center, the largest science museum in the NY metro area, during which time she managed board development, annual fund operations and successfully led a $100 million expansion campaign. Before moving into the museum field, she worked in public broadcasting, where she was responsible for overseeing membership drives, corporate sponsorship programs, as well as fund raising for major and planned giving.

Jan’s career in advancement began at the American Heart Association as a Community Campaign Organizer, orchestrating a vast array of grass roots fund raising initiatives. During her 10 plus years at Heart, she was promoted into broader leadership roles for the organization, gaining senior level experience in board development, field operation management, national direct response programs and corporate partnership development.

Cindy Mesko
Senior Vice President, Agency Development and Mentoring Programs
Cindy Mesko is the Senior Vice-President of Agency and Program Development for Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, where she oversees the nationwide support to our network of local affiliates and the research, development and delivery of the organization’s programs. In this role she connects the evidence-based programs of Big Brothers Big Sisters to the on-the-ground execution by over 350 local independent affiliates, ensuring positive outcomes for the youth served. Prior to her Senior Vice-President role, Ms. Mesko served as Vice-President of Agency Development. The Agency Development department serves as the linkage between local Big Brothers Big Sisters affiliates and the national office.

Ms. Mesko joined Big Brothers Big Sisters of America in 2003 as Director of Service Delivery Systems, where she led the development and implementation of an integrated service delivery system that included the AIM technology, a Service Delivery Model, and performance management systems. Prior to joining Big Brother Big Sisters of America, Ms. Mesko served for eighteen years as the CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Idaho, leading the agency in sustained double-digit growth in children served and revenue.

Max Miller
Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel
Max Miller joined Big Brothers Big Sisters of America in October of 2010 as the Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel. In this role he manages legal matters for the organization and oversees IT, HR, Diversity and Finance operations.

Miller comes to the organization from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law where he served as founding Director of the Innovation Practice Institute (IPI). His primary duties there included strategic program direction, design and execution, curricular development, market research and competitive analysis, and sourcing of funding for adjunct faculty resources and operating costs. The IPI focuses on bringing the innovation culture to the study and practice of law.

Miller spent three years in operational (supply chain and logistics) and marketing (Ketchup brand management) roles with H.J. Heinz Company where he managed various cross-functional project teams and product initiatives. During the previous nine years, he served as Corporate Counsel for H.J. Heinz Company handling various domestic and international transactions for five years, and as an attorney for Federated Investors where he focused on general corporate and securities law for four years.

Miller has been committed to serving children in crisis through his involvement on the board of Kid's Voice, and to community development in his service on the board of the Kingsley Association.

Miller holds a BA in English from the University of Pennsylvania; a JD from the University of Pittsburgh and an MBA from Kellogg School of Management. He is an attorney licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania.