Staff Spotlight: Veronica Engle

Today, we’d like to shine a special spotlight on Veronica Engle, who was promoted to Community-Based Team Lead at Big Brothers Big Sisters. Veronica has worked for BBBS for four and a half years, and it is a joy to witness her taking on this new leadership role.

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Born in Fort Wayne, it wasn’t long before Veronica’s family moved to Avilla, where she spent the majority of her childhood. After graduating from East Noble High School, Veronica continued her extensive education at Ball State University. Here, she received 3 bachelor’s degrees in psychological science, women’s and gender studies, and Spanish literature and linguistics. On top of that, she minored in sociology.

Before Big Brothers Big Sisters, Veronica gained much of her case work experience at SCAN (now known as IRIS). The work was contracted through DCS, and Veronica worked with the families who were required to enter the agency’s programs. It was a tough job mentally, leaving her emotionally exhausted at the end of the day. Looking for a more positive casework position, an open position at Big Brothers Big Sisters called out to her.

What drew you to Big Brothers Big Sisters and your position in Match Support?

Veronica: Coming here, people want to be here. They want to be in this. They want their kids in this program. They want to talk to us. I don’t have to go to people’s homes and beg them to do what they need to do for court. And so, it’s been nice because it’s the fun side of casework.

She began as a Site-Based and Community-Based Match Support Specialist, working with matches in both the School Buddies program and the general Community-Based program. Fluent in Spanish, her caseload also included Littles with Spanish-speaking parents. However, switching to this new job in 2021 brought challenges from the pandemic.

Describe your journey within Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Veronica: I started working at Big Brothers Big Sisters in March of 2021. It was during when we were still following all the COVID protocols, so it was kind of a scary change while a lot of stuff was going on. I was kind of just by myself in my row because we were very understaffed, but people were slowly getting hired in, and I started to learn my role…

I didn’t have a manager for the first six months… But after that, Jassmine became my manager, and that’s when I really started the job.

As time went on, her role took off, and she started to discover that it was just what she had been looking for. This new job focused more on the “fun” side of casework. Whether taking kids to activities, celebrating match anniversaries with Bigs and Littles, or helping out with Match Activities, the flexibility the position offers quickly became one of her favorite things about working at BBBS.  

As a Match Support Specialist, she regularly checked in on the Bigs and Littles on her caseload, seeing what they were up to, making sure they were following safety policies, and assisting in any way she could. Part of this entailed checking on how the Littles’ families were doing.

What is the importance of advocating not only for Bigs and Little but families as well?

Veronica: The importance of advocating for our matches’ families is that sometimes they just need that one person there to help them. Because they just might not know how to reach what they need, or they just need that one connection to help them out for a month or even just today…

Just doing those small things. And yeah, it might take a couple of hours of my day, but those are very big, important things because those families need those people to ask.

What kind of work goes into advising and finding those resources and creating plans of action?

Veronica: Google’s going to be your friend, and calling 211 is going to be your friend. Just because, honestly, that’s how you’re going to learn. But also working with your teammates is going to be a great way, too. If I don’t know something and I’m talking with maybe a parent who needs resources for an older child, I’ll go to the Big Futures team to ask them what they may know because they’ll know things that I don’t, since I don’t work with Big Futures kids.

And then when it comes to calling 211, you can tell them exactly what you need, where you live, and the people who you call can tell you exactly what resources they have. They’ll give you the names of it, the websites, and the phone numbers. You can call, and you can go from there.

There are different services Match Support Specialists can connect families with, due to partnerships with different agencies, along with resources that can be provided. Community Harvest, for food vouchers, and the Christmas Bureau, for holiday gifts, are two agencies that Veronica has worked with in the past. She stresses the importance of advocating for these families who just want the best for their children.

Earlier this year, BBBS promoted Veronica to Community-Based Team Lead, where she will manage Under-a-Year and Over-a-Year Match Support as part of the new Program department structure. Veronica, along with the Site-Based Team Lead, Jassmine Moreno, balances the organizational structure and facilitates communications between Match Support and Leticia Paige, the Program Director. Along with this, she is also responsible for her own caseload, still connecting with matches and families to ensure safety, satisfaction with the program, and resources needed.

Do you have a personal or workplace mentor?

Veronica: The mentor I have here at work would be a mix of Jassmine and Leticia because they’re showing me the ropes of being a team lead. It’s a very new position for me. I know how to do the casework side of things, but being a manager is still very new for me, and I’m figuring out the line between when to be serious and when to have fun with the team.

This new position, which didn’t exist before Veronica got it, entails supporting the caseworkers, making sure goals are met, training staff, and managing grants and surveys—all in addition to her personal caseload. Three Match Support Specialists directly report to Veronica, but she remains open to any caseworker looking for advice or assistance. It may sound like a lot, but if anyone is up for the challenge, it’s the bright and passionate Veronica.

Thank you, Veronica, for your leadership! We can’t wait to see you grow in your new role even further!