Eight women who lead firms as exclusive representative partners of Burke share how they found their way into the playground industry, what drives their work and what they would tell the next generation stepping into it. Their insights go beyond titles or gender. They speak to purpose, perseverance and the responsibility of creating spaces that bring movement, connection and lasting value to the communities they serve.
Finding the Work
Most of them didn't plan this.
Leigh Walden wasn't in the playground industry — she was buying her way into it without knowing it. Her daughter Emma fell in love with a church preschool but the playground’s swings were outdated and no longer met safety standards. So Emma drew what she wanted the playground to look like on a folder, marched it to the pastor and convinced him to let them build it. Two years of fundraising later, they did — and Emma made the front page of the newspaper. Those two years taught Leigh more than she realized. She'd spent them learning how the commercial playground world worked — talking to vendors, managing a community project, building relationships she didn't yet know would change her life. When she needed a new career, she called the one person she already knew in the business: the salesman she'd been working with on Emma's playground. "I've never sold a day in my life. I need a job. Do you need a sales representative?" He did. Twenty years later, she owns fun abounds — and that drawing is still on the homepage of her website.
Dana Amini took an online career quiz that pointed her toward the playground industry. She'd never considered it. Now she owns The Playground Consultants in Missouri. Kati Radziwon was winding down a tech startup when an installer friend suggested she try Buell Recreation in the Pacific Northwest. "I knew nothing about the industry," she says. "That's how I kind of stumbled upon it and then dove in headfirst."
Carolynne Barrs left the corporate world to build something on her own terms — a family business that let her set the priorities. Barrs Recreation started from the ground up in the Carolinas, and for Carolynne, the job of mom never stopped being the top one. Patty Tumminello and her family bought Ben Shaffer Recreation in New Jersey after their twins — one born with special needs — led them into advocacy work that changed everything. Julie Scott got a tip about a playground representative who needed help. Thirty years later, she runs Aspire 2 Play in Kansas. “I can’t imagine selling anything else,” she says.
And Julie Kutilek of Creative Sites? A family connection introduced her to the playground business — and she took one look and dove in. Years later, after raising kids and navigating the 2008 recession, she knew exactly where she wanted to be. She reached out to Burke. The territory was open. The stars aligned — and the partnership began.
Then there's Megan Cunningham. Long before she stepped into a formal role, she was already learning the business from the inside out. Growing up around Lee Recreation in Wisconsin — the company her family built more than 30 years ago — she experienced the playground industry not as a spectator but as an active participant, from trade show floors to national sales meetings. But joining the business wasn't a foregone conclusion. She built her own path first — college, coaching, graduate school, nonprofit work — before realizing the family business was where she wanted to be. What started as childhood curiosity became a career chosen, not inherited.
Eight different paths. One common thread: Whether they stumbled into this industry or grew up in it, every one of them had to choose it on her own terms.
Doing the Work
Ask any of these women what gives them an edge and the answers share a root: relationships.
"Ultimately, somebody's buying a playground from you versus one of our other competitors because they trust you," Kati says. She would know — she came from the tech industry, where the dynamic couldn't be more different. Here, trust isn't a transaction. It's the whole relationship.
In Nebraska, Julie Kutilek puts it in terms her state understands: "Nebraska is very, very relationship-oriented." Her mentor — Annette, who owned the original business — taught her to keep up with the "little things" like clients' kids' names and birthdays. "They love that personal relationship, and so do I. That's why they call you back."
The trust runs deeper than business cards. Dana sees it at pre-bid meetings where she might be the only woman in the room. "I can walk up to another mom and say, 'My name is Dana. I'm bidding on this. What would you like to see?'" she says. "There is an innate trust, or at least comfort level."
Leigh's version is quieter but just as clear: "My heart is in this, and my heart is in it because of my kiddos. That's where it started. I think that's my edge."
Carolynne brings it back to something simpler: "Caring about who you're serving is what makes my team who they are."
Megan learned early that trust has to be earned through transparency. "My name is behind this," she says. She doesn't overpromise — she sets honest expectations and lets the work speak for itself. Her family built Lee Recreation on that same philosophy: Be a resource first, answer the phone always and never let a customer feel forgotten. "My mom — her number one thing is customer service," Megan says. "Customer service, customer service."
It’s knowing the specs and everything in between — sitting at a client’s kitchen table one hour, walking into a boardroom with a mayor and council the next. It’s what Patty sums up simply: “What really matters is, what do you do when things go wrong? We pick up our phone, we help you through it. It doesn’t always go perfectly. But we promise you we’re going to get it right eventually.”
Spend enough time doing this and the community starts to notice. Julie Kutilek has been the "Playground Lady" for years. "I'll be at the College World Series," she says, "and they'll be like, 'Hey, Playground Lady, call me.'" Her daughter Chloe — who recently joined Creative Sites — has already earned her own nickname: PC. Playground Chloe.
Why It Matters
In an industry where you can drive past your work on any given Tuesday and watch kids climb all over it, motivation isn't abstract.
"At the end of the day, it's more than just a playground, and it has a lot more impact than people think," Kati says. "You just don't get to see the actual benefit in every different industry."
Most people never get to see the impact of their work firsthand. Megan does. "My playgrounds are outside, and there's a story behind every playground," she says. Having kids of her own changed how she approaches the work entirely — watching her boys navigate equipment gave her a new appreciation for the thought behind every design decision. "There's a rhyme and reason behind all the design," she says.
For Patty, the impact is personal. “This is not just about having a successful business,” she says. Her family’s experience raising twins and the advocacy it sparked inspired everything, from the business they built to the way they run it. She lights up talking about the Serenity Spot® — a quiet retreat built for kids who need a moment before diving into the action. And the 360 Loop®, which offers children who transfer from mobility devices something they rarely get on a traditional playground: the opportunity for independent adventures.
Dana's motivation showed up at her son's career day. Nine-year-old Hunter came home and announced what he wanted to be when he grew up: a playground consultant. "I have other little girls looking up to me, including my own," Dana says. "I'm so proud that I am a role model for them."
Twenty years in, Leigh still wakes up energized. "I still think this is fun," she says. "Failure's just not an option. Never."
As for Burke, these women know the support is there — in their own words, on their own terms. "Even though I've been by myself, I truly have the support from Burke," Julie Kutilek says. "So I never felt alone." Dana puts it plainly: "Literally anybody will pick up the phone and help me out. That is the secret to success working alongside Burke." Julie Scott puts it simply: "I bleed purple."
Looking Forward
When you ask what they'd tell someone just starting out, the advice comes fast.
"Don't worry if you don't know how to use a tape measure or understand elevations — that can be learned," Leigh says. "What can't be is a passion to bring great things to communities."
Patty keeps hers to four words: "Stay true to yourself."
Julie Kutilek adds: "Be confident. Never stop learning."
And Kati — whose three boys think her job is the coolest thing in the world — has a shirt that says it all: "I sell joy — what's your superpower?"
Several of these women are already building what comes next. Julie Scott hired her daughter, Carly, last year and sees something she recognizes. "It's really cool to work with your kid every day," she says. "She's a more confident person than I was just starting in this industry." In the Carolinas, Carolynne is slowly beginning to pass over the reins, watching her children step forward. "I want to do it in the capacity of cheering on their successes," she says. In Wisconsin, Megan and her brother Ryan are preparing to carry Lee Recreation into its next chapter — a sibling team with complementary strengths. "They have left an amazing legacy," Megan says of her parents. "And they have left the best roadmap for us."
And Dana has her sights set: "I would love to take over the Missouri playground world. I'm slowly getting there."
But even with all the big-picture ambition, the work always comes back to the playground itself. Ask Julie Kutilek what she'd play on, and she picks the Volta® Inclusive Spinner — "that beautiful, smooth glide," she says. Ask Leigh, and she still chooses a swing every time. "It may not be that I love to swing anymore," she says, "but it has so much meaning to me because it's where it started, and it's why I'm in this." Ask Megan, and it's the Cirrus® Swing — not for the design specs, but for what happens on it. "I can lie on it with my kids and stare up at the sky and just talk about their day," she says.
Some things don't need to be more complicated than that.
These eight women represent more than 125 years of combined experience building playspaces — from the Pacific Northwest to New England, the Carolinas to the Great Plains. Their paths were different. Their purpose wasn't. Want to connect with a Burke representative in your area? Find Your Representative and start a conversation.
Meet the Participants
- Kati Radziwon, Buell Recreation — Washington, Oregon, Northern Nevada & Northern Idaho
- Leigh Walden, fun abounds — Southern Texas
- Carolynne Barrs, Barrs Recreation — North Carolina & South Carolina
- Patty Tumminello, Ben Shaffer Recreation — New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire & Maine
- Dana Amini, The Playground Consultants — Missouri
- Julie Scott, Aspire 2 Play — Kansas & Greater Kansas City
- Julie Kutilek, Creative Sites — Nebraska & Western Iowa
- Megan Cunningham, Lee Recreation — Wisconsin & Upper Michigan