Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Indiana, Inc.

A native of Indianapolis, Tonja is a proud Hoosier and is honored to be the new CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Indiana.  As CEO, Tonja will lead BBBSCI in fulfilling its strategic plan and vision. Prior to joining Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Indiana, Tonja was President & CEO of Girls Inc. of Indianapolis.  Under Tonja?s leadership, Girls Inc. grew from serving 600 girls to over 5,500 girls in only three years. In 2006, Tonja was honored as a Forty Under 40 leader by the Indianapolis Business Journal, recognized amongst the top 40 leaders in central Indiana under the age of 40.  In 2005, Tonja received the Indiana University Distinguished Liberal Arts Alumni Service Award. Tonja earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology and a Master of Public Affairs degree from Indiana University and the Center on Philanthropy specializing in nonprofit management. Upon receiving her Bachelor?s degree, Tonja was employed by Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) to develop a program that increased student retention and created a sense of community within the campus.  Tonja founded the IUPUI Student Mentor Program. In 1993, Tonja received the Experience Excellence Award from IUPUI, an award granted to the top IUPUI employees.  In 1994, IUPUI established the Conour Student Mentor Award, named in Tonja?s honor and granted annually to an outstanding IUPUI mentor (Conour is her maiden name). From 1996-2001, Tonja served as Vice President of National Alliance Services for American Humanics, Inc., headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri. She provided program services and oversight to 85 American Humanics college campus programs nationwide to prepare undergraduate students for careers in the nonprofit sector. As an adjunct faculty member, Tonja has taught undergraduate courses at Ball State University, IUPUI, and Ivy Tech State College. She is currently teaching a Professional Mentoring class at IUPUI. As a volunteer, Tonja has been a long-time advocate for animal rights and the environment and has served on the Board of the Eagle Creek Park Foundation. Tonja resides in Indianapolis with her husband, Frank Eagan.