The agency’s Board of Directors selected Sara Pesina to replace retiring Barbara Veazey as Big Brothers Big Sisters new Executive Director.  Pesina will assume her new position on December 20.  Pesina has worked at the agency for the past two-and-a-half years as a Match Support Specialist.  Prior to that, Pesina worked for the Hereford Independent School District for 37 years, including teaching at Tierra Blanca for ten years and most recently as a Senior Counselor before retiring at the end of the 2010-2011 academic year.  A chance meeting with Veazey on the post office steps in 2011 resulted in a job offer that ended Pesina’s “four-week retirement”.  “I still wanted to work with kids.  Big Brothers Big Sisters is more pro-active for helping kids because we can reach them at an earlier age.  So many of their risk factors are due to their low self-esteem,” stated Pesina.

Sara and her husband, Raul, have been married for 42 years.  Raul is the owner of Pesina’s Superior Painting, Inc.  They are members of St. Anthony’s Catholic Church.  The couple has two daughters, Valerie, an eleventh grade teacher residing in the Dallas area and Vanessa Rocha who is a nurse.  Vanessa and her husband Benny have three sons, Alexander, Nicholas, and Zachary, all of Amarillo.  Pesina is the daughter of Mike and Anita Gamez of Hereford.

A graduate of Hereford High School, Pesina obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in Education from West Texas A&M University and earned her Master’s degree in Education and Counseling from WTAMU as well.  She was bestowed the honor of Texas Counselor of the Year in 2011.

Pesina is currently an Amarillo College Advisory Board Member, a Crisis Center volunteer, and a member of Delta Kappa Gamma.  She is also the bookkeeper for her husband’s business.  In her spare time, Pesina likes to sew and garden.  She especially enjoys attending her grandsons’ Amarillo Little Theater performances and their sports activities.

Pesina said, “I’m excited about my new role at Big Brothers Big Sisters.  I truly believe in mentoring as a tool to help children who face adversity.  As Director, I feel it is my opportunity to continue to be involved with children and help the future of our community.”