Billy Mawhiney

Executive Director

Billy Mawhiney grew up on a farmland in a rural Missouri town of 113. On the farm is where he learned a strong work ethic and how to be a caring neighbor. He is a member of the Wyandotte Nation, the tribe instrumental in the founding of Kansas City, Kansas and Detroit, whose tribe language family comes from the Northern Iroquoian. He began his career in afterschool while in college at the Boys & Girls Clubs in Springfield, Missouri. He spent 8 years at that developing impact programming. He would eventually take a leap into licensed school age programs at the YMCA for the next 4 years. He and his now husband Kyle would eventually move to Brooklyn, New York, where he fell in love with cooking. Billy taught cooking classes for high school students at Validus Prep in the Bronx. They moved to South Dakota to be closer to family, start a family of their own and eventually find his way back to the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Sioux Empire where he was the Director of Operations.

Billy has spent his formative years in South Dakota working on advocacy at the state and federal level, expanding capacity for his organization and will now turn that energy into all afterschool programs throughout the state of South Dakota. In his spare time you can catch him in his heirloom tomato garden or teaching a cooking class at Plum’s Cooking Company in Downtown Sioux Falls.

Jeff Sebern

Director of Programs

Jeff Sebern is our new Director of Programs for the South Dakota Afterschool Network. He holds a B.S. in Biology Education with a coaching endorsement. Jeff started his career as a science teacher in the Alcester-Hudson School district where he also served as Head Girls Track Coach.

“During my time there my passion for working with kids extended into the afterschool arena as I worked part-time in the program at the school which served youth in grades K-6,” Sebern said. “After four years in the school system I began to think about alternative ways I could still work with students but in a way that affords more flexibility and focuses on the student as a whole person.  As Club Director and eventually Teen/Outreach Director with the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Sioux Empire, I was able to find that holistic strategy applied towards the kids we served.  OST programs are crucial to the development of children as they become well rounded, resilient, and ultimately successful adults.  With an additional four years of experience working in this environment, I believe I bring a unique perspective to SDAN that can help support OST programs throughout the state.”

Some of his passions outside of work are spending time with his family and pets as well as outdoor activities such as hiking and fishing. As the spring brings warm weather, you can frequently find him in his waders fishing at an area lake and enjoying the sunset and peaceful environment that comes with it.