Derek Billings, Mentoring Specialist, started at PYD in early 2017. Derek has spent much of his time since 2010 working and volunteering for The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp (Ashford, Connecticut) as well as Camp Rising Sun (Colebrook, Connecticut) working with children with serious illnesses. He also worked as a paraprofessional at River Street School from 2013 to 2016, working very closely with children on the Autism spectrum. Before coming to PYD, he spent two years working odd jobs around Connecticut.

Derek is a certified high school basketball referee and has been doing middle school and high school games since 2005. He also spent some time as a youth baseball umpire in central Connecticut. Derek now spends much of his free time playing video games of all kind, watching sci-fi TV shows, as well as watching superhero movies and reading the comics they are based on.