Dittmer Named New CEO for Boys & Girls Club of Lawrence
LAWRENCE, Kan. – The Lawrence community has found numerous ways to create positivity during the COVID-19 pandemic. On Friday, the Boys & Girls Club of Lawrence added its own good news by announcing the hiring of a new CEO, Monica Dittmer.
Matt Llewellyn, President of the Board of Directors, and the leader of the Club’s search committee, former Lawrence Public Schools superintendent, Randy Weseman, made the official offer this week. Fortunately for the Club, Dittmer accepted.
“Monica has exceeded any and all expectations that the board and I could’ve possibly had,” Llewellyn said. “Especially while facing the toughest challenges that the Boys & Girls Club has seen, at least in my time on the board. Even the growth opportunities that we saw for her, Monica has outperformed in every one of them. It is very special to know that the best person for the job was right here with us.”
While Dittmer will be new to the official CEO title, she is far from new to the role. She accepted the job of Interim CEO in July 2019 when Colby Wilson left the Lawrence Club to lead the Boys & Girls Club in Albuquerque, New Mexico. What’s more, Dittmer has been with The Movement since 2002. In her longtime career in youth development, Dittmer has worked in nearly every job duty at the Boys & Girls Club.
“I am so lucky,” Dittmer said. “It isn’t every day that someone gets to live and breathe their passion; the thing that they were meant to do. I’m really proud and honored that I don’t have to go to work – I get to go to work. This is my life’s passion, and I’m excited to continue living that every day.”
Dittmer was living her passion double-time during the last eight months – as both the Interim CEO and an Executive Director. In 2017, she was named the Executive Director for the Center for Great Futures, where she was tasked with getting the brand-new facility ready to open. She created a Teen Advisory Board and strengthened existing partnerships with Lawrence’s middle and high school administrations. Along with her Director of Teen Services, Amy Hill, Dittmer hired a teen-only staff to develop teen-focused programming that utilizes spaces and technologies offered at the Center for Great Futures.
Since opening the new building, Dittmer and her teen team have grown the average daily attendance from 60 to 150.
“I have learned that we cannot be stopped,” Dittmer said. “There is no cap for how hard we are willing to work for the youth in our community. I’ve seen some great, amazing things. I’ve stopped saying that I’ve seen it all, because I’m certainly convinced now that I haven’t – for the good and for the bad. I know that it means we are capable of so much more, and our kids are capable of so much more. I’m excited to be here and support that.”
Her “cannot be stopped” mindset holds true in present day operations, as well. When Kansas Governor Laura Kelly announced that all schools would be closed for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year, including all Boys & Girls Club sites, Dittmer and her team immediately jumped into planning mode. By March 30, the #ApartTogether virtual programs launched. By April 6, the Meals To Go operation at the Center for Great Futures will also be up and running.
“The fact that she has handled this huge crisis with COVID-19 with such leadership sealed it for me,” Llewellyn said. “Monica and her whole team have focused in, taken the challenge head on and performed better than any other Club in America. She and her team have really risen to the occasion. We absolutely have the best person for the job – man, woman, anyone. There is no question in my mind that we have the best person for the job.”
Before taking on the Interim CEO and Executive Director roles, Dittmer was in her longest-term position as the Club’s Director of Operations. It was she who paved the way to open a Boys & Girls Club location in all 14 of the USD 497 elementary schools. Her leadership helped BGCLK’s average daily attendance soar to 1,300 kids per day. She created that exponential growth alongside former Boys & Girls Club of Lawrence CEOs Janet (Murphy) Bremby and Colby Wilson. Dittmer credits both of them – and a few hundred other folks – on mentoring her to the level she is today.
“I only got to where I am today because of the mentors I’ve connected with in my life,” Dittmer said. “That’s part of what draws me so much to the Boys & Girls Club and its mission. I know that mentorship is so incredibly important. Sometimes I’ll open my mouth and the things I’ve learned from other people will come out. I almost have to pinch myself, because I never thought I would get to the point where I could be considered to have anywhere near as much knowledge as the mentors who have guided me. Honestly, I have been so lucky to have several mentors to lean on throughout my time as the Interim CEO. I cherish those connections, of course Janet and Colby are huge, but I could probably go on forever listing people that I’ve connected with who have said, ‘I believe in you. You can do this.’ That’s so meaningful to me.”
Dittmer earned her Bachelor’s degree in Social Work with a minor in Human Development and Family Life (2005) from the University of Kansas. She also garnered applicable work experience as a foster care case manager prior to Boys & Girls Club. At home, she is the mom to three little men: Cayden, Orion and London, and married to Chris Berger.
Her CEO contract will begin immediately, and for Dittmer, it’s full speed ahead.
“I can’t imagine Boys & Girls Club not being my life,” Dittmer said. “It changes you. When I go to work every day, it means something. I’m the lucky one. That’s why I’m here. That’s why I do what I do.”