Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Pittsburgh's new CEO savors 'a match made in heaven'

By Ciara McEneany / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Marc Bloomingdale always knew he wanted to help children and families, though working in a nonprofit setting was not the exact plan.

Going to Truman State University in Missouri and Iowa State University, he studied to become a family and marriage counselor. But when he got the opportunity to help manage a few programs at organizations in college, he realized it was what he was called to do, he said.

“The whole life plan of being a college professor, teaching people how to do family therapy, kind of went by the wayside,” he said. “And I've been running nonprofits ever since.”

Last month, Mr. Bloomingdale, 57, became Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Pittsburgh’s newest CEO. With 30 years of experience in the nonprofit sector, he is looking forward to furthering the organization’s mission of connecting young people with adult mentors to guide them into the future.

Mr. Bloomingdale is taking over for former interim CEO and President of the nonprofit’s board of directors Chris Dinnin, who will continue working with the organization as a mentor. Mr. Dinnin became interim CEO in March after former CEO Becky Flaherty left the position after two years, officials said.

“Big Brothers Big Sisters has made a profound impact on countless children and families across Western Pennsylvania,” said Jennifer Petrisek, the organization’s board president, in a statement. “We are looking forward to continuing our tradition of mentorship, while incorporating the innovative strategies Marc brings to the table.”

Previously as the chief operating officer of the Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma, Mr. Bloomingdale worked to create a number of different programs. There, he was able to secure more than 700 partnerships with  pantries and programs in the area.

And even though Mr. Bloomingdale is new to Big Brothers Big Sisters, Pittsburgh is not unfamiliar to him.

Before moving to Tulsa, Okla., he was CEO for the Lutheran Service Society of Western Pennsylvania for 11 years, he said during an interview Thursday.

“This [position] is an opportunity to come back to an area that I really loved and enjoyed being in,” he said. “It was a match made in heaven.”

Settling down in the North Hills with his wife, Mr. Bloomingdale looks forward to getting back into white water rafting with family and friends, along with advancing a number of programs at Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Currently, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Pittsburgh serves approximately 1,000 children and their families, Mr. Bloomingdale said. He hopes to broaden the nonprofit’s reach to serve more families in Allegheny, Greene and Washington counties.

“There are a lot more than 1,000 kids that really could use a positive influence in their life,” he said. “While there aren't any real demographics that are required to be in our program, we tend to work with kids that are in a one-parent home that could use another adult influence in their life, to help work through some of those issues. So all of those programs need to be expanded.”

Big Brothers Big Sisters has multiple programs for mentors to work with children enrolled, which are community-based or site-based, along with its Big Futures program.

Community-based programs include Sports Buddies, which engages young kids and mentors in sports-based activities, and Big Siblings, which engages LGBTQ+ youth with LGBTQ+ adults.

Site-based programs involve pairing children with older students at schools; workplace connections that match youth with employees at corporate partners; and bigs in blue, which partners children with mentors in law enforcement.

The Big Futures program focuses on children’s life after high school, including the post-secondary program, which works with recent graduates as they pursue higher education or employment.

Mr. Bloomingdale aims to find more adults to volunteer as mentors, also called “bigs,” to pair with children, or “littles,” coming into the programs.

“A huge part of what we're doing is in volunteer recruitment,” he said. “Luckily, across my career, I've run programs that rely very heavily on volunteers to run programs, sometimes up to as many as 5,000 registered volunteers. So the combination of working with kids and families for so long, working specifically with volunteers and putting those two groups together to do mission delivery, really helps with that.”

Coming back to Pittsburgh full-time, Mr. Bloomingdale is also excited to connect with the city’s nonprofit community, which he feels is “outstanding.”

Much of the work done by nonprofits in Pittsburgh inspired and taught him during his previous time here, he said.

“There’s a lot of generosity and foundations here,” he said. “The community really supports nonprofits, and they really focus on trying to make sure their programs work well for kids or for whatever the program is. Those are things that are unique in the nonprofit world and I think sets Pittsburgh apart.”

Big Brothers Big Sisters’ new CEO is coming on during a big year for the organization.

Celebrating 60 years, Mr. Bloomingdale says the nonprofit has a lot planned in the upcoming months, including gathering old volunteers and littles that were involved in programs to show how it impacted them.

“That's really the biggest thing with this organization, it's an opportunity to make transformational change for generations,” he said. “If we change the trajectory, or help a child change a trajectory, of where they're headed in life, then that has ramifications for the next couple of generations.

“That's really what drives and motivates me to be able to do that.”

Those connections in particular are personal for Mr. Bloomingdale. When he was in high school, he had a mentor himself and it made all the difference moving forward, he said.

Working for Big Brothers Big Sisters, it is a chance for him to give back.

“What I've learned from volunteers is they often get more out of the experience than the people they're serving,” he said. “So if you want to make a difference for yourself and want to make a difference for a child, get on our website and apply.”