This month’s Volunteer of the Month is Intake Specialist Cindy Billingsley Arocha! Cindy hails from the great state of Texas and is one of the TWO family genealogists in the Billingsley clan. She and her sister Heidi teamed up together to identify their niece who was given up for adoption at birth. They both tested at Ancestry and 23 & Me and four months after beginning their search, their niece showed up as a match.
Cindy joined the Intake staff in December of 2021 and quickly proved to be an invaluable member of the team. She not only helps new clients with the intake process, but she also recently put together new graphics to help clients through the steps of sharing the DNA and Trees with their Angel. Intake Team Lead, Anique Coney says, “Cindy is simply amazing. She always offers to do extra and goes above and beyond. Her dedication to this team is truly admirable, she has really become my right hand woman.” Cindy also is an invaluable research assistant and search angel in her own right. Kate Penney Howard says that recently, when her life got hectic, Cindy volunteered to help her out and solved what proved to be a difficult case. “Cindy was not only plugging away building out the tree, but she was also encouraging the client to reach out to all of her matches, and then Cindy added the clues from the messages. Cindy and the client solved the case together. It was so wonderful.” The client, Cassandra Street added, “Cindy is dedicated, sweet and caring. She’s taken so much time in helping me on my journey to identify my father. Even with a full-time job, she’s still very present and does not skip a beat. She’s a true angel, and I am thankful for her.” Executive Director Laura Olmsted says that Cindy is a “Wonderful blessing” and is “incredible at doing her job and goes well beyond expectations with our clients.”
Cindy is married to her wonderful husband, JC Arocha, who shares her offbeat sense of humor and mad skills at home improvement. He loves Cindy almost as much as he does pot roast. When not volunteering for DNAngels, Cindy is a mother, grandmother, wife, aunt and friend. She loves to laugh, travel, and spend time with her sisters, including fellow DNAngels Volunteer, Heidi Billingsley Keuper. As an interesting note, Cindy’s family is distant cousin with Leave it to Beaver mom Barbara Billingsley’s husband and “A Christmas Story” star Peter Billingsley. In fact, her grandson could star in the remake of “A Christmas Story” as Ralphie!
It’s Never Too Late To Start A Family
