Nonprofit CEO/Executive Director of the Year: Susan Stephanchick

While Susan Stephanchick’s title with Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Ozarks Inc. technically is CEO, to one local child, she’s known as “lunch buddy.” It’s her mission moment, a reminder amidst the executive tasks of why the work matters.

“To be able to take that pause and have lunch with him, to me, that is a huge reminder. It keeps me plugged into our why,” she says of participating in one of the nonprofit’s mentoring programs. “Being able to allow them the chance to see their value and their worth and their potential and what they could do, not only for themselves, but for their family and their community, is pretty amazing.”

Stephanchick graduated with a bachelor’s in human resource management from Missouri State University and began working as an event coordinator for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society in Springfield.

She later founded The Adventures of Learning LLC in Nixa after earning a master’s of elementary education from University of Phoenix. After selling the school, she was drawn again to nonprofit work and was hired as development director for Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Ozarks in 2019. She became CEO in 2022, leading a team of 13 staff and approximately 250 volunteers.

“Every little piece of what I have done has helped build and prepare me to do exactly what I’m doing now,” she says.

Under Stephanchick’s leadership, the nonprofit, which provides one-on-one mentoring programs for kids, has achieved significant growth and earned national recognition. The number of children served has increased by 12%-17% annually, resulting in the organization receiving the Growth Award every year from Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. Volunteer enrollment and retention rose by 15%, and Stephanchick reenergized the efforts at Think Big Foundation of Missouri Inc., which contributes $130,000 annually to the nonprofit. The Lunch Buddy program has expanded its reach into Nixa, Bolivar, Branson and Henry County and will launch a pilot program at Springfield Public Schools this fall.

Stephanchick says the mentorship she received throughout her life built her self-esteem to achieve her goals. Passing on that empowerment to children now through Big Brothers Big Sisters creates a generational ripple effect.

“We’re walking alongside them,” she says. “We’re celebrating their strengths and connecting them with caring mentors who help them dream bigger and reach higher than what they could think of themselves. You’re not just investing in a child or a teenager. You’re investing in the future of our entire community.”