Meet The Team - Brookings County Youth Mentoring Program

Meet Our Team

Staff

Darla Biel

Executive Director

Darla joined BCYMP in June 2017 as the Executive Director. As a parent and former educator, she believes strongly in the power of relationships to change lives. Darla especially enjoys collaborating with other youth professionals, businesses and non-profit organizations to create long-range, sustainable solutions that provide support and expand the possibilities for young people in Brookings County. When she's not working or volunteering, Darla and her family enjoy music, theater, movies and attending SDSU athletic events.

Ali Teesdale

Volunteer Coordinator

Ali started with BCYMP in February 2020. As the Volunteer Coordinator she works closely with Mentors, Mentees, and the Mentees' families to support mentoring relationships and ensure each match is positive. She has a strong passion for working with youth and a history of working in the nonprofit setting. Ali and her family enjoy getting out and about in Brookings and frequently visit the Children's Museum, Dakota Nature Park, and Nick's

Meet Our Board Members

Jennifer Christianson

President

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Amy Button

Vice President

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Amy is the Branch Manager at Central Bank’s Brookings Branch. She serves as the Vice President on the Executive Board of BCYMP as well as active on the Fundraising and Marketing Committee. Amy and her family have been in the Brookings community for 10 years. After learning more about BCYMP, she wanted to join the board and become more involved. Helping our youth have a stable relationship in their lives is such an important thing. We may not be able to help everyone but every action, no matter how small can make a difference.

Debra Eilers

Treasurer

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Deb is an Accountant with Limestone Inc, a bookkeeping firm based in Sioux Falls, providing services to the Brookings Area. She is a member of the Executive Committee, and also serves on the Programming and Executive Committees. She joined the BCYMP Board as Treasurer, wanting to provide service where it was needed. Deb believes there is always a better way, and our footprint on the planet is a testament to who we are and how we lived.

Dave Hopewell

Secretary

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Dave graduated from Indiana Wesleyan University and completed his masters from John Brown University. He worked in higher education at Ohio Christian University for 6 years where he met his lovely wife, Heidi. They moved to South Dakota in 2014 and have four amazing kids, Phoenix (4), Zoey (2), Zion (2), and Asher (6 mo). He started working at GracePoint Wesleyan in early 2015 and has a deep heart for missions and encouraging others to love Jesus. He joined the BCYMP Board in 2017 and is a member of both the Programming and Executive Committees.

Dr. Isaiah Crevier

Fundraising Chair

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Isaiah grew up in Elkton, SD and went on to earn his undergraduate degree from SDSU in Biology with a minor in Chemistry. At SDSU, he was a BCYMP Mentor, and after graduating he moved to Bloomington, MN to complete his graduate studies at Northwestern Health Sciences University. Soon after graduating, Isaiah moved back to Brookings to open Champion Health Chiropractic with his wife Julia and their children Finley, Bear, and Cedar, in hopes of impacting the Brookings community to achieve their optimal health potential. Isaiah chairs BCYMP’s Fundraising & Marketing committee.

Mary Kidwiler

Programming Chair

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Ritu Hooda

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Ritu Hooda grew up in India and came to the United States in 2002. She works at First Bank & Trust in Brookings as a Business Intelligence Architect. Ritu is a passionate, authentic, and inspiring speaker who strives to make a difference in her life and the lives of others.

In addition to serving as a BCYMP Board Member, Ritu also volunteers with The Brookings Interfaith Dialogue, Brookings School District, the Youth Entrepreneur Program, the Boys & Girls Club, and Brookings area S.T.A.R.S., and is President of the Brookings Toastmasters Club. In her free time, Ritu enjoys spending time with her kids who teach her something new every day. She believes that mentoring is magical and has a powerful positive impact on young people.

Shane Andersen

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Shane Andersen with the Brookings Home Team pwrd by Century 21 Krogman & Co. I have been a Real Estate agent since 2009. And most recently a BCYMP board member since 2019. Shane, his wife and their family have called Brookings home since 1990. They have 4 grown kids and 2 grand kids.

They enjoy Brookings and what it has to offer, and believe in what the BCYMP does for the children in the area.

Landon Fischbach

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Landon grew up in Mellette, SD on a family farm. After high school, he went on to Dakota Wesleyan University for his undergraduate degree in Accounting. At DWU, he served as a mentor in Big Friend-Little Friend. He also enjoyed mentoring all ages throughout his time as a resident assistant at DWU. After graduating, he moved to Sioux Falls, SD to intern for Eide Bailly and to pursue his CPA. After his internship, he was offered an opportunity to get back to his agricultural roots while using his financial background at Hurley & Associates in Brookings, SD. Landon joined BCYMP as a board member and mentor in 2019. He hopes that his work as a mentor will keep him on the front lines to bring some new input and ideas. He knows that having a direct mentor in one’s life helps with confidence and decision making that will positively affect a person and every person that they will encounter over their life. We all make a larger impact than we imagine. Our interactions with others send ripple effects to numerous people in a day, and my hope is that our program will help those ripples always be positive!

Nikki Eining

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Nikki is a private independent practice licensed social worker who brings a diverse set of experiences and passions. She has spent over 14 years working in the mental health field with children and families in office, school and community settings. She has professional experience in clinical mental health, education, research design, non-profit, program development and trauma-informed care practices. Nikki is very passionate about trauma-informed practices along with collaboration to help decrease barriers for youth and families in Brookings County. In her spare time she enjoys spending time with her family, enjoying nature, cooking, baking and staying active.

Rea McKeown

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Rea is a Brookings native and recently retired from Larson Manufacturing after 30 years with the company. Larson’s commitment to serving the Brookings community inspired Rea’s dedication to giving back. She has volunteered with United Way, Habitat for Humanity, Volunteer Service Bank, and CASA. She joined the BCYMP Board in 2020 and is a member of the Programming Committee. Rea and her husband Rick are blessed with four grown children and eleven grandchildren.

Riley Larson-Adams

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Riley is from Hawley, MN, and a Pharmacy student at SDSU. She is Vice President of the Jackrabbit Youth Mentoring Club on campus and helps with many Mentor and Mentee events every semester. Some other things she is involved with on campus are Kappa Epsilon, State-A-Thon, Honors Peer Mentor, Honors College Student Organization, and Nonprofit Leadership Alliance. Riley is also employed at ADVANCE in Brookings. In her free time, she loves to spend time with her family and volunteer with mentoring organizations.

Jim Ducker

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Jim grew up on a farm near Webster, SD. He graduated from South Dakota State University with a bachelor’s degree in Agriculture Business and later earned a master’s degree in Accounting and Information Management from the University of Texas – Dallas. He has lived in Tennessee, Nebraska, Texas, and most recently Minnesota prior to moving back ‘home’ to South Dakota. He is a licensed CPA (MN) and a Certified Internal Auditor. He has spent most of the last 15 years in auditing, accounting, and business advisory roles at various organizations, primarily in financial services. Jim currently serves as the Internal Auditor at South Dakota State University. He has also previously served as a board member of another non-profit youth development organization in St. Paul, MN (Urban Roots) and as a mentor with Big Brother’s Big Sisters of the Twin Cities. Through these experiences, Jim experienced first-hand the impact these organizations have on youth and is excited to continue serving youth of Brookings county with BCYMP. In his free time, Jim likes to spend time with his wife, Krista and step-son Lucas, travel, read, and bike the beautiful trails of South Dakota!

Deidre Beck

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Mellissa Heerman

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Mellissa is the Director of the Business office at the Brookings Health System. She has lived in Brookings for 13 years along with her husband Cody and their three children. Mellissa spent a year fostering mentorship relationships and seeing the power of mentorship first hand while working at a Nonprofit organization in Phoenix. This experience sparked a passion to advocate for and support our youth and was the motivation behind six years in the Junior Achievement Program and her service on the Brookings School Board. She is inspired by this Jimmy Casas quote: Every Student. Every Day. Whatever it takes.

Meet Our Team

Staff

Darla Biel

Ali Teesdale

Meet Our Board Members

Jennifer Christianson

Amy Button

Debra Eilers

Dave Hopewell

Dr. Isaiah Crevier

Mary Kidwiler

Ritu Hooda

Shane Andersen

Landon Fischbach

Nikki Eining

Rea McKeown

Riley Larson-Adams

Jim Ducker

Deidre Beck

Mellissa Heerman

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