The Board of Directors of Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Texas (BBBS) announced the selection of Denise Barkhurst as Chief Executive Officer of the 30-year-old organization effective August 1, 2008. She replaces Elizabeth Myers who had been with the organization for more than 11 years.

"We performed a thorough and extensive search for our CEO. We launched the search in April and interviewed numerous qualified professionals in our area," says Scott Duffy, Board Chair. "Denise has been a major contributor to our past success, and has a great vision for the future. We are extremely confident that Denise is the right person for the job."

Denise first became involved with Big Brothers Big Sisters in 1995 in Oklahoma City where she worked as a case manager. She began her work with the south Texas affiliate as Vice President of Programs 1999, and was promoted to Executive Vice President in 2002.

"Passion for the organization''s mission, combined with her outstanding experience and leadership credentials are what pushed Denise to the top of the list when making our decision," says Duffy. "Denise really understands the positive impact of our organization in the community, and cares about maximizing the mentoring outcome for each one of our matches. She also understands what is required to help us serve more children in the future."

During Denise's tenure with the organization, the agency has increased the number of children served by 466%, while also increasing agency revenue by 451%. Denise has provided leadership and inspiration for the employees while also overseeing day-to-day management of agency operations. At the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America national conference in June, the south Texas agency was recognized as a "Gold Standard" performing agency. This award was given to only 24 of over 400 Big Brothers Big Sisters agency affiliates nationwide.

"I'm truly honored to be named President and CEO," says Barkhurst, who is also a Big Sister of four years to Little Brother, Christian, age 10. "I truly believe that our organization has the power to change the way children grow up in South Texas. Mentoring is a proven way to prevent children from engaging in the risky behaviors that can be so destructive to our youth. I am proud to have been chosen to lead such an effective organization."