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Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Arizona Appoints Pete Griffin as New President / CEO

Jul 31, 2010

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Arizona (BBBS) is pleased to announce that it has appointed Pete Griffin to the position of President and CEO of the charity.

To fill the position created when former President and CEO Brian Hassett tendered his resignation, BBBS of Central Arizona Board of Directors, led by Chairman Tim Riester, embarked on a nationwide search.. “We received a landslide of interest from highly qualified applicants, which shows the level of respect and brand recognition BBBS has nationally,” said Riester.  “Pete is a dynamic leader who can help grow BBBS to provide more mentors for the substantial number of deserving children in our state who desperately need someone to put them on a productive life path.” 

Pete Griffin joins Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Arizona from his post as Chief Creative Officer and Campaign Director at Energy Action Coalition, which is the largest coalition of organizations working with young people on environmental issues. Previously, Mr. Griffin was at MTV (Think MTV) where he managed the network’s on-air, online, mobile and on-the-ground "pro-social" campaigns that engaged, educated and empowered young people to take action on the issues that impact their lives and community. This includes Choose or Lose, MTV’s award-winning political campaign which most recently presented the Official Youth Ball during President Obama’s Inauguration; and Think MTV which recently won the 2008 Emmy Award for best Community Service Campaign on television.

Pete's team launched think.mtv.com in 2006 as an interactive online community where the young people, top non-profits and civic organizations, and the biggest names in pop culture could join forces to address the issues they face in their lives. The website, which was one of five 2009 Webby Award finalists in the Youth category, became a definitive resource for young people to share media and ideas, get informed, connect with others, take action and get rewarded as they worked on the issues that matter most to them.

Prior to Think MTV, Pete was an executive with MTV's International Marketing Partnerships team that created global on-air, online, mobile, and on-the-ground marketing campaigns across MTV's channels in 179 countries around the world. He also worked in Advertising Sales for MTV, MTV2, and mtvU in New York and Los Angeles. Pete has spoken at numerous conferences and events on youth activism, including speaking at the United Nations and participating in meetings at the White House on youth engagement. He has worked with dozens of organizations on issues ranging from the environment, human rights, sexual health, politics, poverty, HIV/AIDS, and education to help them create campaigns to engage and activate young people.

Pete was instrumental in securing participants and auction items for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Arizona’s first “GuitarMania™” event, and has a long history of social involvement and volunteering. Pete will be moving to Phoenix from the Washington, DC area, and will officially join Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Arizona on Tuesday, June 1st.


ABOUT BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS OF CENTRAL ARIZONA

For more than 50 years, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Arizona has contributed to a healthier and stronger community by providing children with mentors who help them succeed in life.  The preeminent youth mentoring organization in Arizona, Big Brothers Big Sisters helps children realize their potential through professionally supported one-to-one relationships with volunteers who care about them.  For more information contact BBBSAZ at 602-264-BIGS or www.bbbsaz.org.

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