Business Women Awards 2022
Woman to Watch Government/Quasi-Government Chelsey Dumas Gibbs, Town of North Kingstown
A blizzard of improvements in recent years at public places in North Kingstown – such as the beautifully landscaped parks, food trucks at festivals and a popular splash pad for kids – was driven into existence by the energy and commitment of Chelsey Dumas Gibbs, the town’s Recreation Department director since 2019.
Dumas Gibbs grew up next door, in South Kingstown, believing she would be a teacher, and even playing the role with her aunts’ castoff school workbooks. She headed into the Community College of Rhode Island to begin her studies as a special education teacher but soon decided a single classroom would be too confining for her energy. She earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology at the University of Rhode Island and then began to find her niche nine years ago in North Kingstown town government.
Two years later, a slight turn into the Recreation Department followed, when the town created a new position of assistant director to allow Dumas Gibbs to push her ideas for expansion and fundraising.
Growing up, “I wasn’t sportsy,” Dumas Gibbs said. “I really came here for the kids. Then I learned how important recreation is for adults and seniors, too.”
The department chief also oversees the town’s public golf course and marina, with a year-round staff of nine people, and another 50 seasonal workers to handle summer activities such as eight-week camps for kids, outdoor concerts and the yearly arrival of newer fads such as pickle ball and skateboarding.
The annual budget for the department, the golf course and the harbor front/marina is about $1.7 million, she says. Dumas Gibbs has outpaced a typical recreation department chief by seeking and winning grants to push forward projects such as park and playground improvements. In all, she has pulled in $571,000 for facilities and programming.
“It is amazing to see how much work comes in and out of her office,” town Personnel Manager Haley Wicker said of Dumas Gibbs. “She’s a hard worker. She’s always available and willing to pitch in.”
