Volunteers of the month – January 2023

Eddie Sobolewski

Eddie came to DNAngels after his wife, Ali, found DNAngels while helping him search for his Birth Father.  Eddie was adopted and has known since he was around nine the names of his birth parents. He reconnected with his mother, and something she once said gave him pause as to whether the name given to his birth father was indeed the correct man.

He came to DNAngels in June 2021, and within hours, he had the answers he sought; Laura had solved his case. Being the tech geek he is, he was interested in the process as much as he was in the answers.   Laura thought of him when DNAngels had an opening for the person who helps out with the case statistics. Eddie not only does the website reporting but helps out with the Social Media. Yet most of the staff don’t know our quiet and unassuming hero, originally from Florida but currently living in Iowa.  

Here’s what I can tell you about Eddie he loves boiled peanuts, Pugs,  homebrewing, or rockhounding; he is the master of a million hobbies and is currently working on his Master’s in Business Analytics. Founder and Executive Director Laura Olmsted says, “ Eddie is such a joy to work with. I know that without fail, anything we ask of him will get done and get done on time and with a great attitude. We really rely on the special set of skills that he brings to the table and would be lost without him.”

Cindy Billingsley Arocha, who is our Assistant Intake Team Lead and is the Mistress of the Master Case List, says, “Eddie is the quiet behind-the-scenes magician that every organization needs. I don’t know everything that Eddie does, but I do know that he is amazing! Eddie created a special code in the Master Case List file that allows me to add and remove staff from the drop-down menus easily. And with all the recent staffing additions and changes, this has saved me hours of time, not to mention headaches!  

When I reach out to Eddie with a question, he is always quick to reply and willing to help. He is innovative and has some wonderful ideas about future features for the Master Sheet. Eddie is a great asset to our organization and deserves to be recognized for all the work he does for us!”  Not only is he a Magician, but he has a big heart and a soft spot for rescue pups. “It was his curiosity about the processes we use and how he looked at our work and thought about how he could help us improve that made us think of him when the position came about to help with the statistics. You know you can count on Eddie, whether your a DNAngels volunteer or a doggo needing a good home,” says Kelly Grace, Associate Director of Administration.  

Darlene Whorely Ruckle

Darlene came to us with a recommendation from a client of Assistant Director of Staffing, Aimee Rose Haynes. She was told, “she’s nuts about genealogy”! Darlene has been an amazing addition to our DNAngels family. She has a reputation with our senior volunteers as being the research assistant who can identify the weird or difficult records.”   And it’s true. This quiet lady from British Columbia shines in the research area. Case Manager Kat Cunningham says, “She is always very helpful in the Research Room and even jumped in to answer when I asked for Research Tips for the newsletter, and hers will be featured in March.” Executive Director and Founder Laura Olmsted says, “Darlene is someone that you don’t hear a lot from in our daily chats, yet when tasked with identifing information on a case, she will dig and dig and shockingly come up with a random obituary that no one else could identify! I call her a mic dropper. It’s always so shocking to get an obit that we all thought was lost or unpublished.”   Her Team Lead Ashlee Krump says, “Everyone knows Darlene is the queen of secret articles and difficult identifys! Even when you think the search is over, Darlene will quietly play Sherlock until she suddenly pops up hours later with a mystery clue no one else found. It is always fun waiting to see what Darlene identifys.” Cindy Billingsly Arocha concurs, “Darlene is an amazing researcher! She is always eager to help, and she digs deep. She can identify obscure gems of information when others have exhausted their search. We love Darlene and are so thankful to have her on our Research team!”  Assistant Team Lead Rachel Kiley Trout calls her a “Hidden Hero” ad echoes the sentiments of everyone else.

Darlene is a very private person, but here is what I have learned:  she has two sons and 2 dogs, Jesse and Bella, and loves Reading, Listening to Music, and Genealogy!

So the question becomes … Who exactly does Darlene have photos/dirt on to be able to get all of this information? What rock does she identify it under? Where does she get her exceptional skills??  While we are all envious, we are glad she is on OUR side! Case Manager Heidi Billingsley Keuper said, “Darlene is the queen of identifing the unidentifyable. She has helped me identify the clue to solving many cases. She really knows how to work the databases to identify what we need. I am still waiting for her Zoom meeting to teach me how to learn her wizardry!”