Katarina Lisaius: A new leader at Waterbury Recreation
October 9, 2023 | By Ingrid Jonas | CorrespondentEditor’s note: Waterbury Recreation got a new director this summer, although Katarina Lisaius’ arrival on staff was overshadowed by the July flood. Waterbury Roundabout correspondent Ingrid Jonas sat down with her recently to talk about her new role and introduce her to the community.
Waterbury’s new Recreation Director Katarina Lisaius reflected on her first day of work this summer: Monday, July 10, which happened to be the day the flood hit Waterbury.
Waterbury Recreation Director Katarina Lisaius joined the town staff in July. Photo by Gordon Miller
“What I will always remember is Dac Rowe (Park) had no water in it when I showed up for work on Monday morning, but throughout the day it got higher and higher and higher,” she recounted in an interview weeks later. She made it home to Bolton that evening but could not get back to Waterbury the following day.
A 2007 graduate of Harwood Union High School, Lisaius grew up in Warren and later graduated from Saint Michael’s College. She left her most recent role as senior advisor at the Vermont Department for Children and Families, one of the largest departments in state government, to become the director of recreation for Waterbury.
In her state role, she led policy initiatives to help address what she described as issues with society’s safety net: “We were working on homelessness issues. There's also the co-occurring substance use or suicide attempts or completions, and those are on the rise in the state. And when you think about what to do to address those, it is connection – It is coming together. It is having a network that cares about you, and I think our recreation department can be part of that connection… What can we do that’s above the safety net?”
This idea, she said, steered her to want to serve the community in a more grassroots role. “Maybe we don’t even see [these issues] anymore if we start earlier.”
Previously a staffer for U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., for nine years, Lisaius said she focused on community and relationship-building as leader of the senator’s human services and education efforts. “I've been working over a decade in politics and the legislature. I wanted to just try something different,” she explained.
Municipal Manager Tom Leitz said there were 15 applicants for the Recreation Director position and five or six were interviewed. “Katarina rose to the top,” he said. “I was really struck by her intellect and the breadth and depth of her experience. She immediately inspired my confidence and I believed she could grow the department and implement her vision.”
Dac Rowe Park at 5:40 p.m. July 10: Lisaius’ first day on the job. Photo by Lisa Scagliotti
In reviewing her application, Leitz said her references were “beyond good.” One that made an impression, he said, was a former supervisor who said that “with Katarina I could be outcome-oriented.” Leitz said the colleague explained: “That once we agreed on an outcome, I could leave most of the planning and execution to her, and that she had a good gauge for knowing which issues needed to be brought to my attention.”
Lisaius joined the town staff with the busy summer recreation season underway. While the department runs programs year-round, summertime has the most happening with the youth day camp and mini-camps and the town swimming pool open for lessons, open swim times, swim team, etc. Lisaius dove in, getting to know all of those programs in progress. “I am really glad she is here, and I’ve been highly impressed with her work,” Leitz said.
Outside of work, Lisaius said she enjoys many forms of recreation. A former member of the field hockey team at Harwood and the tennis team at Saint Michael’s, she said she remains active in both sports. She is also an avid snowboarder. “I will dabble in just about any sport… I'll pick up anything and test it out.”
On a recent belated honeymoon trip to British Columbia, she said she enjoyed swimming in freezing cold glacier lakes. She also sews clothing, cooks and gardens.
In response to the feedback she has received from the community so far, Lisaius said she wants to collaborate with community members and groups to broaden the array of adult programming the town department supports in addition to the standard youth-oriented offerings.
“The town has been very supportive in having recreation defined really broadly, and wants the recreation department to be not only athletic activities, but whatever the community wants to do,” she said. “What do adults have access to that's not going to a restaurant or going to a bar?”
She plans to expand those options, based on community input. After posting in Front Porch Forum this summer to introduce herself and seek input, she said “A lot of people reached out saying we want adult programming and have suggestions.” Yoga was just one idea, as well as requests for additional resources for pickleball.
She’s already acted on both of those suggestions. Pickleball lines are now painted on all four courts at Anderson Field. The department has held at least one yoga in the park session – something Lisaius said could continue indoors at the recreation building as the seasons change.
She has additional ideas such as supporting existing events by adding a recreation component or bringing in new summer programs by working with organizations, for example, Catamount Arts. “Online registration could be a way that we partner with people interested in teaching classes, whether that's an art class, a yoga class… whatever they want to dream up,” she said.
Lisaius noted that community volunteers run a variety of recreation activities separate from the town Recreation Department such as Waterbury’s youth soccer, hockey and little league programs as well as overseeing the dog park.
One challenge Lisaius acknowledges: How does one find current information about recreation programs or the public hours at the pool during summer, or the accessibility of Waterbury’s parks and other resources? A glance at the town’s recreation website proves difficult to navigate and has some outdated information.
“All recreation departments in the state use this same software system that I hope to learn more about to make sure that we're making it more user-friendly,” Lisaius said. “And we do have goals of having easier public hours for people to access the pool” in the future summer seasons, she added.
Waterbury’s town pool is open June-August. A study is under way to determine its maintenance needs. Photo by Lisa Scagliotti
Lisaius said she’s getting familiar with recommendations from the recently completed long-term planning study for Hope Davey Park and the Ice Center areas. A study is in progress looking at the condition of the town pool and steps are in progress to address safety issues with the currently closed skate park at Hope Davey Park in Waterbury Center. On the shelf is a feasibility study for a modern community center completed in 2020, its recommendations yet to be acted upon.
Summer recreation camp is a big part of Waterbury Recreation’s annual programming. File photo by Gordon Miller
Currently Lisaius is the Recreation Department’s single full-time staffer. Part-time staff oversee the after-school rec program and summer staff are added to run the pool and summer rec camps. The town recently posted the department’s Recreation Coordinator position to be filled. Former Recreation Coordinator Wyatt O’Brien resigned in June creating that opening. That role is listed as full-time with benefits overseeing the after-school and summer programming and other recreation projects.
In closing, Lisaius spoke about her values of lifelong learning to build resilience and her new role at Waterbury Recreation. “Humans are curious, so a way to build that curiosity is learning from people that you know and trust and love and see around town, and I see the Recreation Department as being the catalyst for that. I don't need to know how to do all of these things, but if I could bring people together to celebrate one another it makes us a stronger community… that just makes us more resilient.”