Born and raised in Watertown, Massachusetts, Renee Gaudette has worked for youth development organizations in New England since graduating college and now joins us as New England’s new Executive Director. Her favorite recess game is 4-square (“I get really competitive… I can’t help it,” she admits), and she has a dog named California Sunshine Epps Gaudette, affectionately called Cali Sue.
Renee’s love for sports and play started when she was seven years old and joined the Biddy Basketball Program at the Watertown Boys & Girls Club.
“It set me up for the rest of my life,” she says. “I became a Club kid and went there every day after school. I played all the gym games whether it was Bombardment, Kickball, or Basketball. I hung out in the games room and learned how to play bumper pool and table tennis. I did art projects in the art room with Coach Scroi. It was a really special place for me… I met really caring adults who are still my friends and lifelong mentors who I still lean on heavily.”
She recalled that many times, she was the only girl participating in these activities but at the Boys & Girls Club, she was always made to feel welcome and included. She soon fell in love with the sport of basketball, and went on to be the captain of her high school basketball team and play D1 basketball at Iona University, where she also led her team as a captain.
“Leadership has always just been in my blood,” Renee says. “My sister will tell stories that I would be out in the neighborhood greeting all the neighborhood boys and telling them the rules for flag football and kickball, and they’d all follow along and do what I said. I was fortunate enough to flex those leadership skills serving as captain of my basketball teams.”
After graduating college, Renee felt drawn back to the Boys & Girls Club, where she had benefited so much as a kid. She began her career as a Program Director, and then served in many other leadership roles in multiple Boys & Girls Clubs and YMCAs. Eventually, she was given the opportunity to work as the Executive Director of the Watertown Boys & Girls Club, where she had grown up, and worked there for nearly a decade.
When asked what drew her to Playworks, Renee remarks that this is the perfect opportunity to combine her passion for youth development and her leadership skills to lead an organization.
“I really believe in the potential of every child, and I also believe that as adults we have the responsibility to create safe spaces and to model good interpersonal relationship skills,” says Renee. “Play and sports? They’re opportunities to learn about how to win with grace and dignity but also how to lose with grace and dignity, how to be a teammate, how to resolve conflict, how to show leadership, how to express youth voice.. All these concepts come together in the work that Playworks does, which are the tenets of great youth development.”
There are many things that Renee is looking forward to in her new role as Executive Director, including learning how Playworks impacts youth, school, and communities, and maximizing that impact in New England.
