I always loved being part of sport and recreation in and outside of school growing up. When I was in highschool I had the most amazing PE teacher and coach. She was everything I wanted to be when I grew up. After barely making it through my first year of Kinesiology at Selkirk College in Castlegar, I decided being a PE teacher wasn’t going to be in my future (way to much science!). I then took a year away from school to “figure life out”, while doing this I worked at private Japanese College in Nelson, BC in the Recreation Department as a gym monitor/coach/ special events organizer. This was the best job ever! I was getting paid to coach and work with people in a gym/recreation atmosphere without having to take any more science classes! It was about nine months later I was in Vancouver visiting family when I happened to be shopping at a mall and ran into one of my friends from the Kinesiology program at Selkirk (who also didn’t do so well at science) and she told me about this amazing program called Recreation Leadership that she had registered for at Langara College. After some looking into the program I knew this was the program for me. The program at Langara opened my eyes to so many possibilities and job opportunities in Recreation. I loved my two years at Langara College. The faculty really cared about all of us and my classmates became friends for life.

 Many years later I find myself as a Recreation & Cultural Programmer in Castlegar, BC. I truly have my dream job! I get to work with so many amazing people. I have the ability as a programmer to connect with so many different people in my Community. When programming I plan and organize programs and events that really matter and make a difference in people’s lives. I may not be teaching in a school, but being able to create connections through my programs with all the many age groups I work with has been extremely rewarding and I couldn’t think of anything else I would rather be doing.

Working in the Recreation field has been a part of my life’s work since I was 13 years old. My first job was volunteering for The District of Coquitlam as a student in the Summer Day camp program and boy, those were the days. In the early years of my career, I was fortunate enough to work in a variety of Municipalities and programs in the lower mainland. Once I graduated from Langara’s Community Programming and UVIC’s Leisure Studies Coop Program, I had the opportunity to work as the Wheelchair Basketball Provincial Coordinator for BC Wheelchair Sports. This later lead to becoming one of the Provincial Coordinators for the BC Special Olympics. I always knew however, that Municipal Recreation was where my heart was. I am now the Manager of Parks & Recreation for the District of Ucluelet – A community that truly reflects the very essence of recreation and I have never looked back since!

My mom worked at the local rec centre.  After soccer practice I would ride my bike to meet her and watch the rest of the lacrosse games for the night.  It was pure joy being in that energy.  When she had to work Saturday mornings I would tag along and attend hockey drop-in for 4 hours!!!  Being at the local centre was just a normal part of my childhood.

Upon graduating from University my mom advised me not to work for the municipality as there was a glass ceiling for women; she also introduced me to the community development coordinator who offered me a volunteer opportunity. I started to help and then was offered a job.

I thought it was not possible to love what I was doing and make a living. I took the job and found it was my dream job programming for youth and seniors. Every job since has been my dream job and now I find myself making a living at what I just naturally fell into. 

Glass ceiling smashed!!

Donnie Rosa is General Manager, Parks, Recreation and Culture for the City of Vancouver. Prior to this, she was the General Manager, Parks, Recreation and Culture for the City of Coquitlam, and previously the Director of Recreation for the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation. An avid hockey player and coach, dragon boater, yoga student, and humanist, Donnie is proud to be a career recreationist!

Donnie began her career in the City of Mississauga, working her way from a volunteer to Manager of the program. Later, as the Director of Recreation and Culture for the City of Brampton, she assisted the City to win the bid to deliver the Canada 55+ Games on its 20^th anniversary, introduced a program to eliminate barriers to participation, and assisted in sustaining the Special Needs Adult Program Services Ontario, and also gained experience in Parks operations, operating the city’s two destination parks. Her career has been focused on driving visionary change through innovation, as well as leading organizational changes which result in greater access to recreation and culture. She is looking forward to contributing to BCRPA.

Donnie’s served six years on the BCRPA Board of Directors from 2017 to 2023, and was President from 2021-2023.

BCRPA Parks Task Force

• Clayton Postings, Ladysmith; Task Force Chair, BCRPA Board Director
• Alex Taylor, Metro Vancouver
• Isabella Hodson, Central Okanagan Regional District
• Neal Aven, Surrey
• Carmen Didier, Terrace
• Tanya Soroka, Cowichan Valley Regional District
• Mark Crowe, Regional District of Central Kootenay
• Doug Rose, Port Coquitlam