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Kimberly Breeden, a native of Laurinburg, NC. The first of two children, Breeden grew up a farmer’s daughter in a working class community. She attended North Carolina Wesleyan College and lettered in 2 Varsity sports. Her senior year was named Athlete of the Year.
In 1989, Breeden started with the YWCA and quickly developed a passion for children. In, 1992, she was introduced to the Boys and Girls Clubs through a Big Brother Big Sister program, in which she became a Big Sister to a young girl named Dara who was 9 years old. During this time she accepted a position with the Boys and Girls Clubs and continued to mentor Dara until she graduated high school. Her relationship with Dara inspired her to continue to work with children like Dara, who were from disadvantaged circumstances.
In 1996, Breeden was named as the first Native American Executive Director in the Southeast for The Boys and Girls Clubs of Greensboro, NC. She continued to promote Native American Leadership and as well developing more women leaders for the communities in which she served. During her years with Boys and Girls Clubs she received numerous awards for programs designed for children ages 6-18 and staff leadership programs.
In 2002, Breeden continued to fulfill her passion working with at-risk children she accepted the role as CEO for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Durham and Orange Counties. This position made her the first Native American Executive with Big Brothers Big Sisters. In 2005, two Big Brothers Big Sister organizations merged to form Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Triangle and named Breeden as the CEO.
She continues to be an advocate for children and women participating in many speaking engagements across the Triangle. Because of her “Little Sister Dara” her ultimate goal is for every child who needs and wants a Big Brother or Big Sister to have one.
John grew up in the Pittsburgh area with his 6 younger siblings. There his father worked in a steel mill for over 20yrs. John worked several summers there himself to ensure he would be the first person in his family to go to college. He attended Thiel College in Greenville, Pa where he received his Bachelors in Political Science concentrating in Public Administration. There he had many diverse interests running from football practice to theater practice, wrestling to choir, and then off to a fraternity or student government meeting. He continues today with a similar flavor for life in our Triangle wide community.
John has spent the past 12 years in management and development of public institutions (universities, government, and non-profit organizations). He began this career path first having traveled the country speaking at colleges and universities for an educational foundation. After a couple of years, he settled with Pace University in the Wall Street district of Manhattan as the Director of Annual Giving. There he coordinated a multi-million dollar annual campaign and served on the senior management team of a $55 million dollar capital campaign. In addition, he taught courses on fundraising and community development at the NYU Center for Non-Profit Management.
During this time John stayed actively involved in his community in NJ where he served as chairman of a municipal political committee, and worked on many political campaigns for county, state, and federal candidates. Soon after, John left the university world to serve an appointment as the youngest city manager in the state of New Jersey for the community of Highlands, NJ. He led an extensive overhaul of all municipal operations. His administration managed unprecedented revenue and surplus growth along with numerous community development projects. His commitment to the youngest in the community was evident as he built new parks, safer neighborhoods, and spoke to each grade level in the local school about engaging as young citizens. With dedicated leadership from a strong mayor and council, his administration and the wonderful local people led in the relief and recovery efforts of lower Manhattan during the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Centers utilizing the communities ferry systems to evacuate victims and send supplies. The community remained a staging zone and endured these efforts for months to follow.
Following those efforts, he was anxious for a chance to commit to larger efforts directed at helping children. John became the Director of Development for Harbor House serving over 8,000 homeless, abused, abandoned, and at-risk children in Monmouth and Ocean Counties in NJ each year. Again he led the organization to an unprecedented growth of over 200% in operating revenue in just 3 years along with substantial capital dollars that were raised to build an additional homeless children’s shelter.
When the newly merged BBBS of the Triangle was created they sought their first chief development officer and were proud to turn to John for his expertise in organizational development. John’s passion for helping children and a commitment to broader community impact will ensure the organization's capacity to serve over 2,000 local children by 2010. In addition, he was glad to join his entire large family who preceded him to the Triangle; here his 3 youngest siblings are in High School and his 3 nephews are in local elementary schools - he is proud to take an active role in their lives and our community.
Barron grew up a pastor’s son in Darlington, SC. Barron J. Damon is a graduate of the University of South Carolina in Columbia where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Industrial Psychology and a Masters degree in Business Management from Webster University. Mr. Damon has continued his education by participating in two Executive Leadership Programs. In 2005 he completed the Management Academy in Public Health and in 2006 he completed the Emerging Leaders in Public Health at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.
Mr. Damon started his professional career at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Columbia Inc. in the early 1990’sand quickly became the Director of Programs. By 1997, he was named Vice-President of Operations and by 2002 he was serving as CEO to that BBBS affiliate agency. Prior to his relocation to North Carolina in 2005 to work with the Triangle United Way, Mr. Damon owned and operated Lotus Consulting, LLC for three years. Some of his clients included the U.S. Department of Education, the University of South Carolina, Department of Labor, Department of Social Services, Communities and Schools, Department of Health and Environmental Control, as well as several non-profits, churches, and colleges.
He returned to his first love in 2006 by accepting a position with Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Triangle. He currently serves in the role of Vice President of Partnership Development.
He and his wife Katrina live in Morrisville with their two children Mariah and Joshua.
A native of Amherst Virginia, Andie’s childhood experiences consisted of small town life, her grandmother’s farm and lots of family. Attending college within a mile of her hometown, Andie became involved in various community volunteer endeavors. She found her true passion when becoming involved with her college’s mentoring program. During her sophomore year, Andie served as a weekly mentor to a group of female middle school students; her mentoring efforts continued throughout her senior year. Graduating from Sweet Briar College with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and Sociology, Andie began her professional career as a case manager for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Virginia.
Several years later, Andie decided to further her education and pursued a graduate degree at Longwood College. In 2001, Andie earned a Master of Science degree in Sociology, with a concentration in Criminal Justice. She attended her graduation ceremony along with one of the girls from her former middle school mentoring group, who received her undergraduate degree in Social Work.
Following six years of service with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Virginia, Andie relocated to Durham, North Carolina and began her career with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Durham & Orange Counties, Inc. In 2005, the organization merged with the Wake County program to form Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Triangle, and Andie was the first choice for the new Vice President of Programs leading all of our service operations.
Andie and her husband Terrance are proud to live, work, and play in Durham. Approaching 12 years of service to Big Brothers Big Sisters, Andie continues her mission to make a difference in the lives of youth.
Diesha Banner was born and raised in Winston-Salem, NC. She attended the local Public School System for the majority of her education and attended Private school for two years. Raised by parents that instilled great morals and values in her, she was always seeking ways to help others. She volunteered many times as a babysitter, summer camp counselor, and Sunday School Teacher. She graduated from Carver High School, in 1996 and then went on to attend North Carolina State University. She entered as an Engineering Major, but as the specifics of this major unfolded, decided that she desired to have a career that would offer more of a social and emotional connection with others. Her first thought was to go back to her roots of teaching children. She felt that would greatly change the lives of children, but wanted to have a different kind of impact in the lives of others. She then researched the field of Social Work, changed her major to Social Work and Graduated with a BSW in 2001.
In 2004, became an employee of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Durham and Orange Counties Inc at that time (later becoming Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Triangle).
After losing her own mother in 1997 and becoming a mother in 2003. She soon realized that she had been blessed with many mentors and support systems throughout her life and enjoyed providing that same opportunity to children in desperate need of positive role models that would inspire and encourage them to reach their full potential. Each day as she comes to work she thinks of those children and it makes everything so worth every minute!
Originally from Center Valley, Pennsylvania and the daughter of two teachers, Erin J. Callahan was brought up learning the value of helping others. Wanting a change from the cold northern winters, Erin migrated south for college and earned her B.S. in Parks, Recreation & Tourism Management, concentrating in Sports Management from North Carolina State University. She also earned a minor in Business Management.
In the summer of 2002, Erin interned with the Coastal Plain League corporate office. There she assisted in a wide range of league operations. Her hard work and dedication that summer earned her a permanent spot as the Assistant Director of Administration with the college summer baseball league after her December 2002 graduation. After a year, she was promoted to Director of Administration where she handled all financial aspects of the league office as well as assisted in the every day operation of the league.
After 5 seasons with the Coastal Plain League, Erin found that her passion to help children was stronger then her love of the sports industry and made a tough decision to make a slight change in her career path. With her previous administrative experience she was able to make a smooth transition in April of 2006 to the Office Manager position here at Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Triangle.
Wanting to have a more direct impact in the children we serve, in November 2007 Erin became a Big Sister in our Site-Based program. The highlight of her week is the hour that she is able to spend with her Little at Washington Elementary School. With the growing and changing of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Triangle, Erin became the Director of Operations in February 2008 where she currently serves.
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