Connect
To Top

Meet Kerryann Tomlinson of Playworks Arizona

Avatar photo

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kerryann Tomlinson.

Kerryann, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I am at Playworks today because my entire life has been about helping others and making a positive impact on my community. I have always had a heart for children because I have learned so much from them throughout my life. From my first godchild Tim who taught me the power of unconditional love, by choosing me to be his godmother at the age of eight. To my nephews Ryan, Evan and Logan who have taught me to take risks and always have fun. I believe children are the future of our communities, our country and our nation and they are wise, caring and full of life and they bring out in the best in us.

My passion for helping others led me to receive my masters in social work, which I have been able to use in every position I have held. After graduate school, my career began in Arizona as a clinician serving children on probation and parole, providing individual, group and family counseling. After a few years, I transitioned to working for an international non-profit, working with children suffering from life-threatening and terminal illnesses, providing compassion and hope through granting wishes. That journey led me to the sports and entertainment arena, working in New York in community affairs and later to the education field advocating for educational equity for all children.

Regardless of the organization I worked for, I was always serving the community, whether through direct services such as counseling or charitable giving programs for local non-profits or impacting education equity. Playworks feels like the natural next step in my journey, giving me the opportunity to lead the Arizona region by continuing to serving the community I care so much about, impacting the lives of children through play and education by creating safe play and safe communities.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I think my greatest opportunity has been perseverance throughout my schooling and career. I remember being so jealous of my brother because I swore he could look at the cover of a book and know all its content and pass every test with minimal effort. Where on the other hand, I worked very hard for my grades. I spent hours pouring over my books because I wanted to do well and I did not have his gift of natural brilliance. I worked full time while attending undergraduate and graduate school. Juggling full-time work and full-time school at times was a struggle and a fight to show up fully and do my job with excellence while keeping my grades up and getting the most out of my college education. I believe as hard as I had to work for my education has allowed me to value it with the utmost respect and continually further my knowledge daily to ensure I am always growing and learning.

Although much of my career has been in the nonprofit sector, I have also worked in the corporate sports and entertainment field. Being a woman and a woman of color has had it challenges throughout my career, whether it is compensatory salary compared to my male colleagues for the same work or fighting for positions of leadership that typically went to others or being the only female voice in a room full of males and pushing yourself to speak up regardless because you had a right to be there, you earned it. To me, these are not struggles per se but opportunities to shine and show all that you deserve a seat at the table.

I am also a woman of faith and I believe that God opens doors and no man can close them, that opportunities come from Him and my role is do my best and make the most of the opportunity that I have been blessed with receiving. I was always taught by my family that you work hard, you bring your all to the table and demonstrate your abilities by your actions, not your words. Do I believe as a society we have a long way to go? Absolutely! But I also believe that there were many pioneers before me that paved the way and that I am paving the way for a young girl of color somewhere, who is dreaming of her future and what is possible and she is seeing me and others like me and believing anything is possible.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Playworks Arizona – what should we know?
At Playworks Arizona, we empower our students through a medium that they all understand and enjoy; play! Our Playworks coaches use recess games as a means of instilling the social and emotional learning skills that studies continue to show are most desired by future employers. Through our games and programming, we teach our students about cooperation, respect, resilience, how to communicate, and how to solve conflicts with one another when they arise. These are lifelong skills that our students will continue to use daily, long after their time on the recess yard is complete. As our students acquire these skills, the culture of our schools begins to change for the better, resulting in fewer disciplinary and bullying incidences among students.

We are proud of the fact that we have uniquely tapped into the way that our students learn best and how we can reach them. Through play, we can teach so much! Recess is so often overlooked but is actually one of the greatest tools at our disposal as educators and the largest classroom of the day. We are also proud of our partnerships and the fact that our schools each year overwhelmingly tell us that we are shaping the culture of their schools and bringing about positive changes. We hear time after time that our new partners were referred to us by previous partners who were so happy with their experience that they had to share the wealth with others.

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
Aside from God, most of the rest of the credit goes to my mum. She worked harder than any mother I have ever seen to make sure I had opportunities. Even when she did not agree with all my choices, she still supported me 100%. She was my cheerleader, confidant and my best friend. She was very wise and analytical and was a great person to seek advice from on pretty much anything.

Often when I met any of her friends, they would say, “your mum is so proud of you, she speaks about you all the time and how great you are doing.” In a million years I could not have asked for a better mum and best friend. I would also say my older brother has been a huge champion in my life, when I took the job with Playworks and every job before that, he said, “you got this!”

Next to my mum, he has always been there in my corner, cheering me on and letting me know how proud he is of me. Lastly, I have been so blessed with amazing friends in my life as well that cheer for me, encourage me and have my back. Friends so close, I just call them family!

Contact Info:

Getting in touch: VoyagePhoenix is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.

Related Items

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More in