Erica McLeod, who grew up in Camden County, N.J., is the Director of Campus Development at Penn State Great Valley.

McLeod, who did a lot of babysitting in her teenage years and began working as a cashier at Eckerd (now Rite Aid) at age 16, earned a bachelor’s degree in Human Development and Family Studies from Penn State. She credits Robert Jakubowski – the former CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester Counties – with having the biggest impact on her career.

“We worked together for six years, and he helped me grow in my role as Program Director,” said McLeod. “We not only had an organization that made a huge impact in the community, helping children achieve their greatest potential with their mentors, but he also taught me the business skills needed to run the organization. When he left in 2014, I became the Acting CEO until our agency merged in January 2016 with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Philadelphia, Chester, Montgomery, and Delaware Counties.”

McLeod, who worked for Big Brothers Big Sisters for 12 years, said her proudest professional achievement was winning the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America Margaret Slack Award for Professional Excellence in 2011.

“I received the award at our National Convention,” she said. “It was an honor to be recognized for the work I was doing as the Program Director and implementing high-quality safety and mentoring programs at our agency.”

Her favorite Chester County restaurant is Fox Barn at Twenty9 in Malvern.

“In my role, I get to meet a lot of people and bring them to campus for a tour,” said McLeod. “So, a place I really enjoy going to lunch is Twenty9 by our campus. I am looking forward to when I can return to my office on campus and be out and about in Chester County!”