Staff Spotlight: Eli Rider
Today, we’d like to shine a special spotlight on Eli Rider, the Senior Director of Development & Strategy at Big Brothers Big Sisters. Eli has been with the agency for nine years now, and he shares a peek into his journey with the agency!
When he's not giving his time to Big Brothers Big Sisters, you never know where you'll find Eli. He plays sports like softball and volleyball and hangs out with friends around town or at the lake. He tries his hand at new things, like playing as a soccer goalie or even getting into woodworking. At home, a variety of TV shows keep him entertained, with his seven-year-old border collie, Fozzy, by his side. As for movies, the office’s resident movie connoisseur, John Lane, gave Eli a list of his top 50 movies, which he has been slowly working through.
Eli spent his childhood between Fort Wayne and Avalon. Although he lived in Avalon and attended St. Aloysius Catholic School, most of his family was located in Southwest Fort Wayne. After graduating from Bishop Luers, he received a double major in management and marketing from Purdue Fort Wayne.
Eli grew up very close to the Big Brothers Big Sisters mission because of his mom, Josette Rider, who has served as the CEO for the past 27 years. It wasn’t until college that he began working at the agency. For a summer internship, he pulled staples out of files so they could be digitally scanned. Later, almost 10 years ago, he started as the Marketing and Communications Intern, and he has been here ever since.
Describe your journey with the agency.
Eli: I started here as an intern. And then over the years, we started adding to marketing because we saw its value. And now we're where we are today, winning awards at the national level.
Along with the mission, Eli was continually presented with opportunities to learn new skills and take on new responsibilities, keeping him engaged with his role at the agency. Gradually, the Marketing Manager soon played a part in many different processes and departments at BBBS. Recently, he took on a new title to match his work role.
Tell us about your new position at BBBS.
Eli: I recently took on a new position as Senior Director of Development & Strategy. My current position is kind of like a project manager and a coordinator at a bigger scale. So, I work with our development team, our marketing team, and then our customer relations and enrollment team, kind of just making sure that everyone's communicating, getting all the big group meetings scheduled, and then helping solve roadblocks as they come up for each department.
Working across departments allows him to work with lots of different people and personalities across the agency and even externally. This is one of his favorite aspects of his role, especially since several of his long-term friends are employed at the agency. Some of his favorite memories from his nine years at BBBS include his friend and coworker Bailey Roe falling out of a semi and going on a trip to Turks and Caicos with an agency supporter and fellow BBBS workers.
What is your favorite part of your role?
Eli: It's a lot of fun to meet new faces of people who haven't fully interacted with the mission yet and to see the wheels turning as you're talking about what Big Brothers Big Sisters is and what it means to the community. It's really exciting to see people kind of get inspired, involved, and then invest in the agency.
And the hardest part of your job?
Eli: Hardest part? Waking up at the same time every day to get to work by 8 a.m.
Inspired by the mission himself, Eli is no stranger to joining BBBS programs. He joined the program at 18 years old. Over the years, he’s had a Community-Based match, and the School Buddy just began his second Site-Based match with Little Brother Marsean.
School Buddies is great for his busy schedule; it's easy to get away from the office for 45 minutes to hang out and play games with his Little. Project management is no small task, so Eli finds that when he comes back, he feels refreshed and ready to take on the next challenge.
What do you like about being a School Buddy?
Eli: Marsean is just a really cool kid. He's got a lot of whimsy. The first time I met him at our matchup, he just asked me, “How do we know what the dinosaurs were called if no one was around to know what they called each other?”
And I was like... Okay, this kid gets it. He's on to something. So yeah, he's got a lot of whimsy. He's a lot of fun.
Thank you, Eli, for the nine years of hard work you put in across our departments!