Staff Spotlight: Jill Dunham
Today, we’d like to shine a special spotlight on Jill Dunham, the newest addition to the Development team. Jill has been with Big Brothers Big Sisters for three months now as the Director of Community Development for Noble and DeKalb. We are excited to welcome her to the team and see her take on the region!
Jill’s leisure time is filled with a diverse set of hobbies. Sometimes you’ll find her hiking with her husband and her dog. Other times, she brings her hooks out to crochet. As a significant hobby in her family, Jill also frequently watches sports, especially her football favorites, Notre Dame and the Colts. This Cubs fan also keeps up with baseball games, and during March Madness, she is sure to tune in to the different playoffs happening.
Another pastime of Jill's is feeding Sally every 7 to 14 days. Who is Sally, you may ask? That would be her sourdough starter. This at-home baker tries out many different bread recipes, with sourdough being her favorite.
Jill is a Fort Wayne native; in fact, she was the last baby born in Fort Wayne in the 1970s. She continued her education and career in her home city through Northrop High School and Purdue Fort Wayne, then through Middle Tennessee State University. As a child, Jill discovered her love for the justice system through a mock trial, inspiring her to pursue a degree in criminal justice and psychology.
Despite this, her charitable mindset consistently drew her to food service positions with a community focus. For three years, Jill led the team at Mission BBQ as the Servant Heart Leader, a front-of-house manager position (you may have also seen her driving the Mission BBQ tanks). At Girl Scouts of Northern Indiana-Michigan, she worked as a membership recruiter.
What led you to seek service-oriented positions?
Jill: I've always been focused on doing things for others, whether it's as small as a family or as big as the community…So I always tend to be drawn to companies or jobs that help feed my servant heart and that are fun to do.
Then Jill met the BBBS Chief Development Officer, Shelley Schwab, and the two stayed in touch. When an opportunity to work with the nonprofit opened, Shelley reached out, and the rest is history.
What drew you to this organization in particular?
Jill: A few different things drew me to working here. The mission, what we do for the community, it's a unique organization. It just doesn't work with the youth. It brings the whole community together in support of the youth.
Jill believes the saying, “it takes a village to raise a child,” has never been more relevant. With so much technology, youth can’t escape the pressures they face every day. Mentors give young people an outlet, someone to vocalize their thoughts and stresses with.
When asked if she had a mentor in her own life, Jill considers her high school English teacher to be someone who falls in that category. As a high schooler who loved reading and writing, her teacher would push her to do more than what she would initially turn in, knowing her potential.
Is that a mindset you carry with you?
Jill: It is. Just to not stop. Never stop learning. Basically, what I took from it was to just keep pushing forward.
As the new Director of Community Development for Noble and DeKalb, Jill meets with different businesses in the community, explaining to them the mission of mentorship and what the organization does. Bringing free snacks, donuts, or pizza, depending on the time of day, she presents to the staff of these local businesses in an effort to gain partnerships and volunteers.
These partnerships take a variety of forms to suit each business's needs and capabilities. Some companies are able to provide BBBS volunteers with price breaks, which are discounts or deals for their services. Bigs can show their volunteer ID card to take advantage of these different price breaks, which helps the agency make volunteering as easy as possible.
Other partnerships come through donations or staff volunteerism. BBBS events often require a large team to help set up. Companies may send staff to assist in this process, along with donating products or services to BBBS programs or event auctions.
And—of course—Jill is always looking for volunteers for the School Buddies and Community-based mentoring program. Finding the mentors for youth remains the heart of everything a Director of Community Development does.
Presenting to staff at local businesses brings Jill joy, as she doesn’t need to be at a desk all day and gets to meet with people face-to-face. Although Directors of Community Development have a set structure and task list, the position comes with room for freedom and spontaneity. Along with the relationship-building aspect of her role, allowing her to meet many different people within the community, this is one aspect of her job that Jill finds so unique.
What is your favorite thing about working at Big Brothers Big Sisters so far?
Jill: Just getting to know everybody. It is really a go-at-100-miles-an-hour type of pace, which I'm used to working in restaurants.
So, I'm excited to get involved in our different campaigns that we have throughout the year, fundraisers, and really getting to know the communities that I'm working in and building those partnerships.
What are you most looking forward to in this role?
Jill: I most look forward to engaging with new partners who might not know what the full mission is. My goal is to explain and demonstrate our work, and then show them the actual, local results. It isn't just Northern Indiana; it is about local impact as well.
Jill is excited to deepen her ties in Noble and DeKalb counties, and BBBS knows she is up for the challenge!
Contact Jill at (260) 208-5912 or jill.dunham@bbbsnei.org to learn more about corporate/ business partnerships, volunteering, and other ways to get involved with BBBS in Noble and DeKalb counties.
