Nominated by the Northside Planning Council & Robin Amado, Lakeview Branch Library

As a native of Rock Hill, South Carolina, Terrence got his degree in Recreation Management from Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. He moved to Madison in 2009 to take a job with the YMCA of Dane County, and then quickly transitioned to MSCR, where he oversaw adult recreational programs.

In 2017 Terrence came to us on the Northside and took over the role of facility manager at the Warner Park Community Recreation Center, and we are very lucky and grateful that he did.

Since Terrence arrived here, he has opened the doors to communities that had never found comfort or opportunity at the center before. He expanded the open gym hours and dramatically increased youth participation by waiving the $1 fee on weeknights. That policy change meant that youth visits went from 350 a month to 1,000 or more a month. He instituted monthly Friday Teen Nights and 3-on-3 basketball tournaments, and piloted weekly Friday Teen Nights during the summer, as well. He collaborates with multiple partners to regularly bring youth programming into the building. Most of all, Terrence did this work for two years without specialized staff or resources for teen programming. 

Terrence brings his lived experience to the job. He said in an interview with the Capital Times in September, “I was one of those kids where I really looked at rec centers as a place where I could go — not always from a programmatic standpoint, but just somewhere to go and be safe and just enjoy being a teenager.” He’s done on-the-ground outreach and built one-on-one relationships to identify kids who aren’t being served by other programs and make sure they know they have a place at the center. And then when he gets them in the door, he involves them in setting expectations and co-creating rules so they can play well alongside the center’s other users.

He is resourceful, creative, collaborative and visionary, and he works as hard as anyone I’ve ever known, all the while raising two young children who attend Mendota Elementary. He’s also our local deejay ‒ he helped make our series of summer block parties a hit with his positive, friendly vibe. Personally, our partnership and friendship is one of the most rewarding parts of my job. When Terrence and I go too long without being in a meeting together, we both notice it. That’s an indication of how tightly knit Northside organizations have become as we try to optimize our resources and impact, and Terrence has been at the center of much of that collaborative spirit.

All of this good work has not gone unnoticed. Terrence was recently honored with the 2019 Alix Olson Award at the Mayor’s Neighborhood Roundtable (read more about that award on page 18). In collaboration with the Parks Foundation, Terrence was able to raise $80,000 this summer for his “Kids Need Opportunities at Warner” or KNOW initiative. And, with the passage of the city budget, Warner Park center will be getting a full-time teen specialist staff position and is slated to be expanded in 2021 or 2022 to add dedicated youth spaces to the building — a major win for the Northside, made possible by Terrence’s hard work.

I’ll end with Terrence’s own words when asked about his favorite moments: “Seeing the kids being able to be here on a daily basis. I wouldn’t trade that for anything. That’s the power of what we’re doing — that sense of belonging and kids feel like ‘This is our place too.’”