Director of Student Life Jennifer Kubista received the Washington Secondary School Athletics Administrators Association (WSSAAA) 2011 Athletic Director of the Year award jointly with Keri Von Moos from District 1 at the recent WSSAAA conference in Spokane.
“Jennifer is a credit to her district. She is awesome,” said Dan Heltsley, West Central District WSSAAA and athletic director for Bethel School District, who presented the award to Kubista. “We had two really outstanding individuals selected Athletic Director of the Year by their districts. The selection committee could not separate them out, so we have co-Athletic Directors of the Year.”
“I am truly humbled by this award,” Kubista said. “Receiving this award is a great reflection on what our schools are doing each and every day in regards to athletics. It is an honor to work, live and give back to the community that made me the person I am today.”
Kubista, who represents District 3, attended Skyline Elementary School and Truman Middle School, and graduated from Wilson High School in 1993. She and twin sister Christine Brandt, assistant principal at Wilson High School, played volleyball throughout high school and in college.
“In every way, Jennifer is truly an excellent administrator,” said Tacoma Public Schools Superintendent Art Jarvis. “Her care and concern for students is evident in everything she undertakes. She has earned the highest respect from the staff for her leadership. She looks for solutions, and she makes the effort to find ways to make those solutions become a reality.”
Kubista earned the titles of Narrows League Athletic Director of the Year and 2010-2011 Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) West Central District Athletic Director of the Year, which led to her nomination and selection as 2010-2011 WSSAAA Athletic Director of the Year.
She graduated from Gonzaga University in Spokane in 1997 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration with an emphasis on management. Kubista has a four-year scholarship as a volleyball player. Upon graduation from Gonzaga, she accepted an assistant volleyball coach position at the University of Connecticut. While coaching, she completed a Master of Arts degree in education/sports management from the university.
Kubista moved back to Washington in March 2001 to accept a temporary spring/summer position with Tacoma Public Schools Athletics and Activities Department. In that position, she collected and analyzed the district’s OSPI gender equity and federal Office of Civil Rights Title I data reports. She also served as the assistant manager for the WIAA Star Track XIX 3A/4A championships.
In August 2001, Kubista accepted the commissioner position for the Columbia Empire Volleyball Association (CEVA) following her lifelong passion for the sport. Serving under the umbrella of the United States Volleyball Association, she managed the CEVBA Board of Directors and committee responsibilities.
In August 2003, Tacoma Public Schools bought her home again when the district selected her as Director of Athletics and Activities. She demonstrates her leadership skills in many areas such as program development and implementation, team building, collaboration and communication. Her job titled changed recently to Director of Student Life to reflect additional duties.
“I am most proud of the district’s recent accomplishment of gaining equity among the male and female sports programs,” Kubista said. “The school district received a complaint in 2000 for not having equitable opportunities for males and females in athletic programs. This past August, we received a letter from the Office of Civil Rights stating the district was in compliance with the Title IX law. The district gained equity by showing that the athletic participation for both males and females is proportional to the overall enrollment of male and female students. Our district is only the second school district to accomplish this in Washington. This is truly an achievement of our coaches and administrators for working each and every day to gain equity within the male and female sports programs.”
Kubista currently serves on the Tacoma and West Central eligibility committees. People around the state highly regard her for her expertise and management of athletic contests in many different sports. The way she has managed the West Central District #3 and WIAA Star Track meets exemplifies her organizational and leadership skills.
Her awards and achievements include:
· Gonzaga University Division I volleyball team, full athletic scholarship, 1993 - 1997
· Strength and Conditioning All-American, 1995
· WSSAAA Service Award, 2006
· Certified athletic administrator (CAA), 2008