We are here to start something

Kim Breeden
Chief Executive Officer
 

Nonprofit Executive Professional. Born Kimberly Breeden on September 5, 1968, in Laurinburg, NC.  The first of two children, Breeden grew up in a working class community were her parents owned a convenient store and farmed. 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 and volunteered with a mentoring program. This is when she was introduced 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, who were from disadvantaged circumstances.

In 1996, Breeden was named Executive Director for The Boys and Girls Clubs of Greensboro, NC which was the Clubs Dara was a member. She continued to promote Leadership and mentoring. 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 and accepted the role as Executive Director for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Durham and Orange Counties. In 2005, two Big Brothers Big Sister organizations merged to form Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Triangle and named Breeden as the CEO. In 2008, Breeden was named CEO of the Year for Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.

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 Mitterling
Chief Development Officer

John has had a successful 25-year career in development, working for a number of organizations, including the John Avery Boys & Girls Club, the North Carolina and American Academy of Family Physicians Foundation, the North Carolina Symphony and the YMCA of the Triangle.  A native of New Bern, NC, Mitterling has lived in the Triangle since 1982.  John graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1986.  An avid long-distance runner, John has completed 14 marathons since 2000.

Barron Damon
Vice President of Partnership Development
 

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.

Andie Thomas Young
Vice President of Programs
   

A native of 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 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and Sociology, Andie began her professional career as a case manager for the local Big Brothers Big Sisters agency.

Several years later, Andie decided to further her education and pursue a graduate degree. Earning 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 the local Big Brothers Big Sisters, 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.

With 16 years of service to Big Brothers Big Sisters, Andie continues her mission to make a difference in the lives of youth.

Diesha Banner
Director of Site Based Programs
 

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!

Erin Callahan
Director of Special Initiatives
 

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.

Joe Wallach
Finance & Human Resource Manager

Joe grew up in a small town outside of St. Louis, Missouri, working the family’s grain and livestock farm along with his five older siblings. He became the first member of his family to graduate from college, earning a degree in Accounting from Southwest Missouri State University (now Missouri State University).

Joe began his professional career in the Tax Department of Arthur Andersen & Co. in St. Louis. He transitioned to the nonprofit arena on the business side, accepting the position of Customer Support Manager at Micro Information Products (MIP), a small software firm in Austin, Texas. MIP authored accounting software to nonprofits and was later acquired by Sage Software. Joe relocated to Raleigh in the early 1990s and operated Wallach Consulting, providing MIP sales, installation, and training services to nonprofits for over fifteen years. In addition, he took on a part-time position as Finance Director at the Junior League of Raleigh.

Joe joined Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Triangle in August, 2010. He currently serves as Finance and Human Resource Manager.

When not working, Joe enjoys reading, traveling, and playing baseball in the Central North Carolina Men’s Senior Baseball League. He lives in Raleigh.

Kaara De Freitas
Director of Quality Control
 

Kaara grew up in the twin isle Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. In 2003, Kaara left her home country and moved to the United States to accept a full academic scholarship to Benedict College to start her academic career in the field of social work.

Ms. De Freitas has served as Director of Quality Control since June 2010. Responsible for advancing and maintaining the overall quality of services provided by Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Triangle, Ms. De Freitas will design and implement a quality assurance audit system, develop risk management policies as it pertains to child safety, and provide continuous quality development geared towards the organization’s success.

Kaara joined Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Triangle in October 2006 as a Match Support Specialist where she provided quality support to parents, children and volunteers. Before serving as Director of Quality Control, Kaara served as the Lead Match Support Specialist. While supporting the mentoring relationships, Kaara helped steer initiatives and implemented policies that resulted in increased retention rate of matches, superior quality of support provided by the match support team, and improved goal achievement of the match support team.

Kaara earned her Bachelor of Social Work, sum cum laude from Benedict College in Columbia, SC, and a Master of Social Work from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.