Centers People

From a student to Assistant Director and now our Director at CENTERS, LLC @ Jacksonville State University, Joanna Prociuk has been positively impacting the company on many levels for over 6 years. Joanna started as a student employee at our first CENTERS location, DePaul University, working for current Director Maureen McGonagle and Jeff Sessine, now CENTERS’ Senior Vice President. After grad school, she was hired as an Assistant Director at DePaul. Joanna took some time away from CENTERS as she ventured to Florida Atlantic University in 2008 to open their recreation facility in 2009. She later became the Director of Campus Recreation at FAU.

When the opportunity arose to open a new facility at JSU, we knew Joanna had the CENTERS mentality already in her blood. We welcomed her back as the Director of Campus Recreation at JSU in 2018 and with the support from CENTERS, watched her work her magic as we opened a P3 (Public-Private Partnership) recreation facility on campus in January 2019.

Can you talk about how the CENTERS Culture with POI [Program of Innovation], our commitment to Better is Better, our Quest for X, and cross-site collaboration opportunities helps motivate you to continue learning and growing within the CENTERS organization?

Personally, I find the ‘Better is Better’ concept really motivating. I am motivated by problems and opportunities for improvement, so I deeply appreciate that CENTERS expects staff and organizations to improve.

What women inspire you, and which of CENTERS’ core values/attributes do they exemplify most?

The most honest answer is my daughter. She absolutely motivates me to work efficiently and prioritize what is important. She demands my continuous learning and development.

Professionally it would be Moe. She is so smart and is a master at developing organizational culture and bringing a mission to life.

How do you feel having strong and respected female leaders in the company attracts women and minority talent to the company?

I think, and research supports, female leaders benefit the organization. I would venture that it attracts all types of candidates. It also communicates that CENTERS values diversity at the leadership table, that they embrace a variety of leadership qualities, and are not afraid of promoting women.

How does working for CENTERS help you overcome common challenges and inefficiencies that campus recreation professionals that work outside the company live with?

In my experience, CENTERS has been able to reconcile this debate that recreation must either be student focused or revenue focused. Recreation can be both and the intensity of each should be adjusted to the individual institution.

What are the most important competencies that younger female professionals need to acquire to become the next generation of leaders in the industry?

Get comfortable making decisions, find your voice, do not play down your abilities, and ride out any imposter syndrome feelings you have. While wellness is the hot topic in collegiate recreation, I think business and organizational management are the most critical skills you are called upon to use (and no one really trains you on them).

Name a female employee on your staff who has broken barriers or set new standards in the industry.

Stephanie Hobbs was the first certified POUND® instructor in the state of Alabama. Back then, facilities had to pay to be a POUND® venue. She presented to the City of Anniston and they became the first location in the state to offer this popular fitness format.

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Way to go, Joanna! We thank you for all you have done at CENTERS and look forward to what you will do next.