Big Brothers Big Sisters of La Plata County has welcomed new Executive Director Anita Carpenter.
“Anita brings over 20 years of experience in nonprofit management,” Interim Director Tracy Cornutt said in introducing Carpenter to BBBS supporters, “including volunteer recruitment, training, management and retention.”
Cornutt, who stepped down as executive director in April, has been serving as interim director as the organization conducted its search.
Carpenter has worked as executive director of local and state nonprofits, primarily in Indiana; served as a congressional appointment for three Department of Defense task force operations; and represented consumers and organizations on multiple national, state and local committees and advisory councils.
“We just sold the farm and came,” she said about their move two years ago, when she was offered a position as program administrator at Capacity Builders in Farmington. “When I came to scope things out, I said, ‘We want to be in Durango.’”
Her husband works as a corporate trainer, so he only needed to be near an airport; her daughters enrolled at Fort Lewis College; and her son is a sophomore at Durango High School, where, she says, he is thriving in the Small Learning Community model.
“I come from working on anti-violence and preventing child abuse,” she said about her career before Big Brothers Big Sisters. “This mentoring environment is new, and I’m looking forward to experiencing this model for working with at-risk youth.”
Capacity Builders works with Navajo and other Native American populations on strengthening the nonprofits that serve them and improving health and quality of life for Native Americans while incorporating their cultures into the programming.
“The opportunity to learn more about those populations, see firsthand the overwhelming needs on the reservation,” Carpenter said, “I was sad to leave that. But I hope to be in touch with that here, and I’ll have a better chance to get to know Durango, get familiar with where I live.”
Carpenter has been reaching out to be of service since she was a little girl.
“I was always bringing home a wounded bird or stray cat,” she said. “My mom always said I would be in an area where I was helping people. I tried to defy it and go to law school to be a tax lawyer, but my first job after college was at a nonprofit working with people with disabilities, and there was no turning back.”
As for what the first few months at Big Brothers Big Sisters hold, the beginning of the school year is always a busy time as BBBS starts receiving recommendations for students who would benefit from mentoring and requests for mentors.
“I’m just finding out who’s who and what’s what,” Carpenter said. “Tracy and the current board have put the organization in a really strong position, and the program staff is great. For us, community relationships are so important, so I’ll really enjoy building those. And there are always goal-setting needs.”
abutler@durangoherald.com
To volunteer
Big Brothers Big Sisters of La Plata County is always looking for volunteers, for mentoring in its community-based program or Study Buddies, its school-based program. Volunteers are also needed to help with events and fundraising.
For more information, call 247-3720 or visit www.bbig.org.
